A/N: Ever since I posted the first chapter of this fic, I have had the idea for this second part in the back of my mind. I finished it a few weeks ago, and am posting it today for the first day of PotO Fluff Week 2022, hosted by textsfromthefifthbasement on Tumblr. Enjoy!

When the sky became dark and the fireworks started, Christine settled against Erik as they both fell silent, enjoying the feeling of his arm around her as they watched the colorful display. This night had certainly gone even better than she had hoped, she thought as she felt him gently nuzzle the nose of his mask against her hair. It seemed almost unreal that they had finally talked about their feelings for one another after so long.

After the last of the lights of the display had faded, Erik helped her to her feet and took her hand, tucking the blanket they had brought with them under his other arm. As they headed toward his car, Christine noticed that he matched his much-longer strides to her shorter ones, seeming to be in no more of a rush than she was. Maybe he was savoring the feeling of them finally being together just as much as she was.

Once they were in the car, she broke the comfortable silence between them. "That was a really great night, Erik. I'm so glad you came with me."

To her delight, he removed his hand from the gearshift long enough to quickly grab hers long enough to bring it to his mouth for a brief kiss. "The pleasure was all mine, Christine."

After a few moments, he asked, "Did you still want to come over?"

Christine couldn't help but notice the hint of uncertainty in his voice. Wanting to reassure him, she replied, "I definitely do," not missing the small smile that curved his lips, just visible under the mask.

Her reply seemed to increase his confidence, because he continued, "Of course, you're welcome to stay the night." Seeming to belatedly realize what that statement implied, Erik hastened to add, "Your room is ready, like it always is."

"That sounds nice, actually," Christine agreed, hiding her smile at his slight discomfort. Although she knew it would be best to continue sleeping in the spare room she always used when she stayed at Erik's for now, she had a feeling that it wouldn't be long before she was staying in his bedroom.

xxxxx

When they got back to Erik's, they settled on the couch and he pulled up a movie on his television as they normally did when she spent the night at his apartment, but instead of keeping a respectful distance from her like he had always done in the past, tonight Erik opened up his arms to her, and Christine was all too happy to snuggle against him. Enjoying the feeling of his arm around her shoulders, she slid one around his waist in return, content to just be close to him for the moment.

Eventually, though, the thought of the kisses that they had discussed earlier filled her mind to the point that Christine found herself tipping her chin up, hoping Erik would take the hint. His gaze met hers, guarded but hopeful, and Christine promptly decided that she would have to take the lead.

Leaning up, she pressed her lips lightly against Erik's, feeling him tense for a moment before he relaxed slightly. Slowly, he began returning her kiss, his thin lips moving gently against hers.

Soon, what had begun as a slow exploration became more heated, and Christine found herself lying on her back, with Erik stretched out on top of her, their tongues tangling together as their hands roamed over each other's bodies.

Just as Christine was beginning to reconsider her decision to sleep in the guest room that night, Erik suddenly gasped in a breath and drew back from her. As she pushed herself up, he moved off of her entirely, settling on the end of the couch as he avoided looking at her, instead staring blindly in front of him.

"Is something the matter?" she asked, feeling a little unsure.

Still not meeting her gaze, he replied, "Christine, I - maybe this isn't a good idea."

"What do you mean? I thought we were having a nice night, Erik."

"Yes! It's been wonderful, but I'm not sure that pursuing anything between us is a wise idea after all, Christine."

Heart sinking, she stared at Erik, willing him to look at her, but he continued to stare straight ahead. Suspecting what might be behind his sudden change of mind, she asked, "So were you lying when you told me you love me earlier?"

Startled, Erik finally looked at her. "No! But I'm not sure I can do this, Christine. Maybe it would be better if we just remain friends."

"Fine, then, if that's what you want." Christine felt like crying as she agreed to his request, but she also didn't know what else to do. She had told him everything in her heart; if Erik couldn't overcome his own issues enough to even try to see if they could make a relationship work between them, she couldn't force him to make the effort.

Standing up, Christine's only thought was to make it to the privacy of her bedroom before she started crying, but Erik's next words stopped her. "It's not what I want, Christine. Not at all."

By now growing frustrated at the way he was making this so difficult, Christine snapped at him, "Then what do you want, Erik?"

In answer, he buried his masked face in his hands. "I want to be whole for you, Christine, but I can't. That's the one thing I can't give you - and you deserve so much more than me."

His broken answer melted her anger as quickly as it had started. Sighing, Christine sat down next to him again. "Erik, I'm not asking you to be anything other than what you are."

Dropping his hands from his face, he looked at her, eyes glowing yellow behind the mask. "You say that, Christine, but you don't know. You don't even know what I look like. And I don't know if I'll be strong enough to let you go when you want to leave, not if I get a taste of what it's like to have you in my life."

"Why are you so sure I'll want to leave?"

Erik laughed humorlessly, vaguely gesturing toward his mask. "Because, if we try to have a relationship, you will eventually have to see my face - and no one, even my own mother, has been able to care for me once they've seen it."

Christine took a deep breath after Erik confirmed her suspicions about the reason he was pushing her away. "Well, then, I think we have two choices. You can show me your face right now, tonight, so we can see if I can handle it or not; or we can just give up on something we both want."

Erik was silent for so long that Christine had begun to think he didn't intend to answer her before he finally spoke. "I don't want to give up on us, Christine, but I'm not sure if I can."

Feeling defeated, Christine took a deep breath and gathered herself to stand up, but Erik continued speaking before she could.

"Maybe you could do it?"

"You want me to take your mask off?" she responded, wanting to make sure she understood him. "Are you sure?"

"Yes."

"Okay," she said, reaching slowly for the ties of his mask, feeling touched that Erik was trusting her like this, only to be startled when he suddenly reached up and gripped her wrists.

"Are you all right?" she asked, concerned that she was pushing him too far. "We can wait if you're not ready."

Releasing a shaky breath, Erik let his hands slowly fall away from her. "No, I'm ready. I'm just…afraid that this will be the last time I see you."

Heart breaking at the hopeless tone of his voice, Christine finished releasing the mask and slowly pulled it away from Erik's face, seeing his golden eyes fall closed as she looked at his face for the first time.

As she took in his appearance, the stray thought ran through her mind that it was fortunate that Erik continued to keep his eyes closed, because no matter how prepared Christine thought she had been for this, it turned out that Erik really hadn't been exaggerating about how shocking his face was. However, just as she was wondering what she could possibly say, Erik's eyes slowly opened, meeting her gaze hesitantly.

Looking into his eyes, Christine felt the reminder that this was Erik wash over her - the man she had fallen in love with over these last months. Suddenly everything seemed very simple once again, she thought as she reached for his hands.

"You're still here," he whispered, and Christine felt her heart clench at the mix of uncertainty and hopefulness in his voice.

"Yes," she replied, leaning forward, continuing just before her lips met his, "and I don't plan on going anywhere."

A/N: Thank you for reading, and please feel free to leave a comment! This fic as a whole probably reads as something of a time capsule of my writing: The first chapter is the second thing I ever wrote, and I was still very much trying to figure this whole thing out, and as far as the second chapter, I wrote about two-thirds of it last year, and then let it sit for a year before wrapping it up here recently. So, consistent it's probably not, but hopefully it's fun to read, anyway :)