Disclaimer: The following songs and their respective singers/writers/publishers/whatever do not belong to me.

"More than Words" - Extreme
"Swear It All Over Again" - Westlife
"Still the One" - Shania Twain
"I Wanna Hold Your Hand" - Beatles
"Always" - Bon Jovi
"Call You Mine" - Paul McCrane

Feedback: Reviews will be greatly appreciated *hint hint*

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She picked her way through the dirty streets of Montemarte, asking this way and that if anyone had seen a blue-eyed young man with black hair. Cat-shaped green eyes glanced about anxiously, searching through the throng for the person in question. To say she was worried was an understatement. In all honesty, she was downright terrified. Christian had been acting strange all day, or so she had been told.

She hadn't noticed a thing, of course. She had been too busy sucking up to the Duke and trying not to gag in the process. Satine shivered at the memory of the Duke's scaly touch. She much rather preferred Christian's gentle hands.

But it bothered her that someone had to tell her about Christian. She hadn't even seen him the entire time, not after the stunt she pulled in the morning. And when she asked Chocolat about him, there had been a disapproving glint in the black man's brown eyes. It spoke volumes about the seriousness of the situation. Chocolat was the only one, other than Toulouse, who knew about their secret affair and as protective as he was of her, he had taken a liking to Christian as well.

Eventually, her search took her to a grassy knoll just outside the walls of Montemarte. The street urchins, to whom Christian sometimes gave apples, had last seen him wandering towards the park.

That had been half an hour ago and it was getting dark. Satine pulled her cloak tighter around herself and quickened her pace. Her shoes squished slightly on the wet earth.

And then she heard it - a faint, melodic sound. A dejected, ethereal song wafting through the breeze, resonating like some eerie siren call. Satine pricked up her ears and turned to her right. That voice, while overwhelmingly sad, sounded familiar and Satine followed the sound.

She found him sitting on a stone bench under the swaying leaves of an oak tree. Christian was the epitome of misery, slouched back like some man who had lost his will to live. And as she caught his words, she understood his conflict.

Saying I love you
Is not the words I want to hear from you

He was singing without thinking, the words simply coming out of nowhere to pierce the starry night with their presence and give her a glimpse into his soul.

It's not that I want you
Not to say, but if you only knew

His voice caught audibly and Satine felt tears prick her eyes.

How easy it would be to show me how you feel
More than words is all you have to do to make it real
Then you wouldn't have to say that you love me

His voice trailed off into a barely audible murmur. "'Cause I'd al-rea-dy know..."

He fell silent and Satine stepped out into the moonlight. And she stood there, unnoticed, trying to think of what to say. Her heart urged her to just wrap him in her arms and soothe the hurt away, but her mind whispered that it would take more than that to ease his pain. Something had happened today, something to make her already insecure, but lovable, poet to doubt himself and their love even more.

If she wasn't careful, she could loose him forever.

Satine screwed her face in frustration. How could she tell him the depth of her love? How could she explain? She didn't have his gift for inspiration.

Satine closed her eyes and imagined the gleam in his eye, the shine on his expressive face during one of his 'moments'. She tried to imitate how he must have felt.

And to her surprise she knew exactly what to say.

I wanna know

Christian whirled around in surprise. Gray-green eyes sparked blue for a scant second, then faded away. He looked at her for a moment, his face neutral and uninviting. It was clear that she was not welcome.

Satine steeled her resolve and ignored the warning, letting her own soprano mingle with the remaining traces of his tenor in the air.

Whoever told you I was letting go
Of the only joy that I have ever known

She was encouraged by dull gray flickering blue-green in interest.

'Cause they're lying

She crouched down before him. Christian ducked his head to avoid her gaze, but she firmly took his chin in hand and forced his eyes to meet hers.

You're the one that I run to

Slender fingers traced his cheek.

The one that I belong to
You're still the one I want for life

Still nothing. Not even a sign that he heard her. Satine suppressed a sigh and took his large hands in her own gloved ones, running her thumbs tenderly over his palms.

You're still the one that I love
The only one I dream of

A hint of mischief played across her lips.

You're still the one I kiss goodnight

But instead of making him laugh, Christian screwed his face up and pulled his hands away, turning his gaze off to the side. And when he spoke, his voice was low and gravelly.

You said that we've got nothing in common
No common ground to start from
And we're falling apart

Satine shook her head at the absurdity of her old protests and countered, "You'll say the world has come between us."

Our lives have come between us
But I know you just don't care

She took his face in her hands and made him lean over to touch foreheads. She gazed at him lovingly for a minute before making a tender smile. Her fingers grazed his eyelids of their own accord and Christian closed his eyes, aware only of her tinkling voice.

'Cause in your eyes I see a love that burns eternally
And if you see how beautiful you are to me
You'll know I'm not lying

As expected, Christian blushed a scarlet red. A smile flickered reluctantly across his features and an impish glint appeared in his eyes.

I wanna hold your hand
I wanna hold your hand

He sang lightly, teasingly, kissing her fingers one by one, but Satine wasn't fooled. She could see the suffering in his expressive eyes. This was torture for him, she realized now; him, who needed a loving touch as much as she needed to be accepted for who she was. She nearly cried for his pain and her part in it.

As if sensing her train of thought, Christian's face grew somber and he turned away, still grasping her hand in his. He looked briefly at the lights in the distance before meeting her gaze once more, his features defiant and determined, scaring her with his intensity.

If you told me to cry for you, I could
If you told me to die for you, I would

"Take a look at my face," He pressed. "There's no price I won't pay..."

Gone was the broken man, and in his place stood a renewed, defiant fighter. For the first time, she could see the depth of his love, his soul laid bare for her to pick up or throw away. So she did the only thing she could to reassure him.

She used his own words.

More than words is all you have to do to make it real
Then you wouldn't have to say that you love me
'Cause I'd already know

Christian relaxed slightly, his face taking on once more a sad, longing visage. "Is it okay if I call you mine? Just for a time..." Normally sparkling blue eyes were as bleak as a funeral on a cloudy day.

That was the last straw. Sobbing slightly, Satine pulled him close, cradling him in her arms as if she could protect him from his insecurities. And as best as she could, she answered through her tears.

Nothing's gonna change my love for you
You ought to know by now how much I love you

And then, Christian was hugging her back fiercely, his fingers digging into her corset. He gripped her tight against him, like a man in a storm-tossed sea. It was a long time before either one of them was willing to let go of the other.

Finally, they let themselves pull back. Christian traced gentle fingers across her face. He touched his forehead to hers. "I know," He whispered softly, referring to her declaration of love. "I'm sorry for the way I acted."

"Shh, shh," Satine shook her head minutely, brushing her nose against his to keep him from wallowing in unnecessary guilt. "It's all right, darling. I hadn't realized how hard it must have been for you."

Christian closed his eyes and nuzzled her cheek. "More than words to show you feel..." He murmured. "That your love for me is real."

"I love you, you know that, don't you?" She paused and sang softly.

I'm never gonna say goodbye
'Cause I never wanna see you cry

"Mmhmm," Christian sighed into her ear. "I do now. Thank you, Satine." He echoed her with a promise of his own.

And I'm never gonna treat you bad
'Cause I never wanna see you sad

She tenderly brushed a lock of hair off his forehead, noting the delight in his eyes. "I swore to you my love would remain."

Christian smiled fully at last and lifted his own voice to join hers.

"More than words..."

Fini.


*author looks at the pitiful amount of reviews in her mailbox, grumbles to herself and wanders off back to her drawing board.*