The remainder of that first day had been spent in bed together, only leaving for food and other necessities. They both forgot about life outside the apartment, too caught up in expressing their love for each other, talking and kissing. They didn't need to worry about gypsies or theatres, masons or love struck vicomtes, they were lost in their own little world. Christine couldn't stop touching Erik, suddenly becoming unable to bear the idea that their skin wasn't touching in some way, even if it was just their fingertips.
At some point during the afternoon Erik had come to the sudden realisation that he hadn't shied away from a single touch of Christine's since he had woken up next to her. The simple act of her kissing him had broken through his last barrier and he knew, both consciously and subconsciously, that her touch would never harm him. But although he would accept her touch he was still reluctant to be the one to initiate a touch or even move when they were in contact.
It didn't take long for Christine to realise however, that when they were kissing Erik would become a lot freer in his touches. Whether this was due to confidence or distraction she didn't know, but she wanted to encourage it, hoping that Erik would realise that he was allowed to touch her and that she wanted him to do so. She told him numerous times that she wanted him to touch her, but he had trouble comprehending that such an idea could be real and it was going to take time for him to accept it.
They talked about everything they could possibly imagine, but never once mentioned their lives outside of the apartment. They had spoken of music and told each other stories, although over the years their collection of stories had become so intertwined and familiar to each other that Christine couldn't entirely remember what stories Erik had told her and which ones she had told him. But she was certain that Erik could speak of anything and it would be interesting to her. Erik decided that one day he would have new stories to tell her, and a home that had a library where she could keep them all.
They were so caught up in each other, having ceased talking and just holding each other and occasionally sharing kisses, that they didn't even notice when the sun started to fade in the sky. It was only when Christine noted how dark the room was and got up to light a candle that they realised it was night. Whilst Erik put together a simple meal of bread and dried meat, Christine collected some music that she needed for the next day and took it back to the bed to read. Erik quickly joined her, being carefully not to drop crumbs on Christine's bed. After they finished eating, Erik propped himself up against the bed head whilst Christine crawled into his arms and handed her music to him, silently asking him to quietly sing it to her, both as a method of teaching and a source of comfort.
Morning came all too soon and they were forced to leave the comfort of each other's arms. Like the previous night, they had once again shared Christine's bed, holding each other as they slept. Erik usually started work before Christine and he hated having to leave her. Although he tried to not to disturb her, Christine stirred as soon as he pulled away from her. He immediately apologised for waking her, but a small part of him was glad that she was awake, so that he was able to tell her that he was leaving. After what they had shared he had no intention of letting her think that he had abandoned her. He shuffled quietly around the apartment whilst he got ready and when he returned to Christine's room to say good bye she pulled him down for a kiss, determined that they would start a new tradition of never parting without a kiss.
Despite the happiness that they had found together over the past couple of days, they didn't allow it to show at the building site or the theatre. For Erik this was relatively easy, he rarely spoke to anyone unless it was related to the job he was doing and between his mask and the cloths they used to cover their mouths, there was very little of his face on display. Still he knew he had to be careful since he didn't want anyone asking questions or to draw any attention. One of the younger apprentices had recently starting courting a girl and the other men had subjected him to weeks of good natured teasing as well as a celebratory night out which had lasted into the early hours of the morning. As far as the worksite was concerned, nothing in Erik's life had changed.
As she made her way to the theatre Christine knew that she was going to have trouble keeping her new found happiness a secret. She couldn't stop smiling and was well aware that the other girls would realise that something had changed the moment they saw her. So she told herself that it was a role that she needed to play, she needed to pretend that she was still the Christine of two days ago. It was going to be difficult and she hoped that one day she would be able to be open about it.
The only thing that was potentially marring her happiness was the thought of seeing Raoul again. She didn't know what she was going to say to him. Now that she knew exactly how strong his feelings were she was certain that he would want an explanation for her actions the other evening. Of course he deserved it too, but she didn't know how she could turn him down without admitting that there was someone else. It was cowardly to avoid him, however until she was able to come up with a plausible explanation, it was all she could think of.
She was beyond relieved then, when she overheard the managers say that Raoul had taken off for London for a month, only informing then via a hastily written note that morning. She wondered whether it had to do with her, but dismissed the thought quickly. It was much more likely that he simply had urgent business to attend to in England. Regardless of the reason, it gave Christine some much needed time to work out how she was going to extract herself from the situation without betraying Erik whilst also trying not to hurt Raoul any more than necessary.
Erik quickly decided that he enjoyed their shared day off more than he had ever enjoyed their evening walks. As far as he was concerned there could be nothing better than spending an entire day with Christine in their apartment, without having to worry about anyone or anything else. Since Christine had started turning away sewing work she was able to get everything done at night after coming home from the theatre, so there were absolutely no distractions on their day off. They started to take their walks again every evening and Christine no longer gave any thought to touching Erik. Taking his arm was now as natural to her as the act of walking.
"You know," Christine said one evening as they were walking, pulling her shawl over her shoulder, "I used to imagine this."
"Imagine what?" he asked. Noticing that she had pulled her shawl up over her shoulder he realised that the chill of the night air must have been affecting her. He moved his shoulder closer to her's, hoping to share the meagre warmth that his body produced. Although he barely moved, Christine seemed to notice and smiled gratefully up at him.
"This. When we were on our walks I used to imagine that we were...together," Christine struggled to find an appropriate word to describe their relationship.
"Really?" Erik asked, amazed that she had shared his fantasy.
"Really," she giggled. "I used to wonder what people thought we were to each other and whether our walks would be any different if I was able to tell you that I loved you."
"Did you do this often?"
"Every walk. From the very first time." She laughed quietly. "I remember the first time I suggested it, when Cloutier first offered you the job, I said that we could be just like any other couple going for a walk. I wasn't able to stop thinking about it."
"Hmm," Erik murmured.
"But, the reality is so much better than I ever imagined," she concluded.
"I agree," Erik admitted.
"With what?"
"With all of it. I used to imagine that you were mine," he said, a hint of possessiveness entering his voice. "But I never imagined it would be this wonderful."
Looking around to ensure that they were alone, Christine stood up on her toes and pressed a kiss to Erik's lips. "I love you," she said, dropping back down and maintaining eye contact.
"My Christine," he said, smiling down at her.
"My Erik," she replied, quickly stealing another kiss before pulling him along the path to continue their walk.
Over the next few weeks their apartment gradually changed to reflect their new relationship. Erik hadn't spent a single night away from Christine's bed and his part of the front room became a storage space, his bed littered with bits and pieces. His belongings slowly migrated in Christine's room and soon it was difficult to tell that they had once not shared the room. Sharing a bedroom brought them even closer together as they learnt more about other, things that they had never thought to discuss or had the opportunity to witness. Like that Erik hated sleeping under the covers, feeling as though he was trapped when there was anything on top of him and that Christine would always throw her nightclothes onto the bed when she changed and that she would always miss. This particular habit drove Erik, who preferred that items be kept in their proper places, crazy and so every morning he would discretely tuck her night attire under her pillow.
"Erik, what are you doing?" Christine asked when she caught him doing it one morning, the nightdress tightly gripped in his fist.
"Nothing!" he said, slightly startled that she had entered the room without him noticing. "I was just tidying up."
"Really? Our one day together and you want to clean?" she slowly sauntered over to him. "You can't think of anything more interesting to do?" Taking the nightdress from his hand and throwing it onto the bed, she reached up to plant a kiss on the side of his neck.
"It wasn't going to take long..." he protested weakly as she continued to kiss up his neck and along his jaw line. Feeling impatient he twisted his head and caught her lips in a passionate kiss.
"See?" Christine murmured in between kisses. "Isn't this nicer?"
"Much," he agreed, groaning slightly as Christine pressed the length of her body more firmly against his.
Wrapping her hands around his hips to hold him close to her, she started walking backwards towards the bed, their legs getting tangled as he was forced to follow her. She sat down and allowed the pressure and intensity of Erik's kisses to push her back onto the bed. Erik automatically followed her, having absolutely no desire to stop kissing her for a moment. With Erik stretched out on top of her they continued kissing and caressing each other.
Wanting to feel more of him, Christine started to pull his shirt free from his trousers, blindly feeling for skin. He gasped when her hot fingers made contact with his skin, the sensation of hot on cold feeling almost overwhelming.
Reaching up between them he started to undo the top buttons on Christine's dress, pushing the fabric aside to gain access to her shoulder. Tearing his mouth away from her lips he turned his attention to the slope between her shoulder and her neck, sucking in a way that he knew would leave marks.
"Oh," she sighed. "More Erik, please," she said, rocking her hips up against him.
He could still feel her fingers dancing across his abdomen, but when they shifted down and started on the fastenings to his trousers he wrenched himself away from her, rolling to the side to lay next to her.
"Erik?" she questioned, panting.
"We can't let this go any further, not now."
Unfortunately this was becoming a more and more frequent occurrence. Their physical attraction to one another was growing stronger every day and they were finding it harder to resist where it was naturally leading them. But Erik kept holding them back.
He knew without a doubt that he loved Christine and wanted her in every way, heart, soul and body. And whilst Christine insisted that she wanted the same from him, he couldn't allow them to give in yet. He needed Christine to be absolutely sure about her choice before they went any further. Because he knew that once they had shared everything with each other he would never be able to let her go. He simply wouldn't survive it.
"What can I do to convince you that I want this, that I want you?" Christine pleaded, shifting closer to Erik so she was able to caress his cheek.
"I don't want you to regret this," he said.
"I could never regret this," she responded fiercely.
"Even if you have to stay with me for the rest of your life? Because that is what will happen. I couldn't let you go after that, even if you wanted to go," Erik explained, staring up at the ceiling.
"I want to grow old with you Erik, nothing will ever change that. There is no way I would ever want you to let me go."
He didn't say it, but he wondered whether one day the pull of a normal life would start to takes its toll on Christine. He cared nothing for the rules and conventions of society, as long as he had Christine by his side he would be content. But could he be enough for Christine? He knew that her religion was important to her and she attended church every week. As they were not married he doubted whether they should be sharing a bed in the manner they were, let alone going further. Could she regret that as well if he allowed things to progress? There were so many reasons Christine could regret him and he had to wait until he was certain that she wouldn't change her mind.
"It doesn't have to happen today," Christine said, resting the upper half of her body on Erik's. "But I do want this, when we're both ready," she continued, realising that although they both wanted this, they were probably both nervous as well, for a multitude of reasons.
Erik didn't want this to colour the rest of their day together so, pulling Christine closer to him, he said, "I realised the other day that the job site isn't far from the edge of Paris."
"Hmm?" Christine murmured distractedly, playing with the fabric of his shirt.
"I've been walking when we break for lunch. There's a lot of farm land, but there's also some small cottages. They're still close enough to Paris for work, but you don't have to live surrounded by people," he said, thinking about how crowded the apartment building seemed, where you could always hear what was happening in the apartments around you. "We've been able to save some money over the past few months and Cloutier is still paying me well..."
"Do you think we might be able to leave here?" Christine asked excitedly, pushing herself to look down at Erik.
"Maybe," he said cautiously. "We can start to think about it."
"That's wonderful!" she exclaimed.
"I want to be able to give you everything Christine," he said, running his fingers along her back. "I know this isn't much..."
"But it is," she interrupted.
"And maybe, away from the city, we won't need to hide so much anymore. I don't want people thinking that you are my sister."
Although nobody in the building seemed to care about their relationship, and nobody in their respective workplaces knew of the other's existence, they had decided shortly after arriving in Paris that if they were ever asked they would say that they were brother and sister and that Christine was caring for Erik after he was injured. Their initial attempts to claim they were husband and wife, at the train station and the hotel, had been met with suspicion. Neither of them had liked the idea, but had not been able to admit it at the time.
"It would be nice not to hide. The girls at the theatre are always talking about suitors and the patrons, I sometimes wish that I could tell them that I loved someone," Christine said, kissing him softly.
"I don't like people thinking that they can take you away from me," Erik admitted, thinking of the Vicomte. He was certain that there would be plenty more men like him who would want Christine for themselves, and that many of them would not be nearly as honourable as the young patron.
"But it doesn't matter what they think. Nobody will ever be able to take me away from you," Christine reassured him. "And I don't want anyone taking you from me."
Erik laughed softly at this and she knew that it was because he thought that no one could possibly want him but sometimes she wondered. Erik was so brilliant and she knew that he was capable of achieving wonderful things. Perhaps one day society would take notice of him and with that came young women who would vie for his attention. She knew that if he had been born with a normal face she never would have had a hope of capturing his love.
"So you like the idea?" he asked.
"Of course I do. A real home where we don't have to hide? I would do it tomorrow if I could."
"I'll start making proper enquiries tomorrow then," Erik decided, determined that this time he would find a proper home for Christine on his own and that she wouldn't be forced to arrange it for them because of him.
"Thank you," she said quietly.
As Erik started telling her what the houses he had seen were like, Christine began to wonder what this would mean for their relationship. Surely if he wanted to be open about their relationship it meant that he was thinking about their future and was starting to believe what she was telling him, that she wanted to be with him entirely, forever. He wanted other men to know that she was his, she thought, smiling to herself. After the events with Raoul she had realised that Erik was the only man she could ever marry and she knew that Erik's possessiveness would accept nothing less than marriage. She would have to belong to him completely. And once he was convinced of her feelings, there would be nothing to stop them from committing themselves fully to each other.
