A/N: sorry for such the long wait people! I was really busy! I even have a second story up and ready to go after this one is all done, but you'll have to be patient to get to read that one...

LilHikki :Yes, Erik should stay, lol,thank you:)

inkie pinkie: and Erik shan't get sick! Thank you so much for all your support! hug

Bastet Starwind: I'm glad you like :)thank you!

Moonjava: Yes... this much worrying and you start towonder why he doesn't have ulcers... j/k. Thanks:)


ERIK POV

It's been a week, and Raoul has finally gotten better. The past few days the worse has been a cough, and those I can handle.

Right now we are eating dinner.

It is a silent dinner, but the silence is better than any words that could be said. Across the table he glances up, and our gazes meet. Everytime this happens he makes it his job to smile. That beaming smile… that is what I think I have missed the most.

He finishes, as do I, and so I clear the table, still not trusting him enough to do much work, fearing the return of that dreadful illness. When I return to the table and pick up the remainder of my wine he smiles.

"Let's go up to the roof," he takes my free hand.

"Raoul," I set down the glass and place my hand over his, "you're still not well."

"I'm fine," he moves a hand ot cup my unmasked cheek. I lean into his hand. Guilt sets in.

"Promise me one thing first," I look him in the eyes.

"Anything," he pushes.

"Wrap up, and stay warm," his grin grows, stretching from ear to ear.

He runs into his room, or the room that has now been claimed by him, and grabs a coat, throwing it on and doing up the buttons as quick as possible. I, myself, just grab my cloak and throw it over my shoulders.

He comes sprinting out of his room, faster than he went in if such a thing is possible. He takes my hands, raises himself on his tiptoes and plants a kiss on my cheek. We start to walk out, side by side, smiling.

We reach the roof and he drags me to the furthest statue, the same one that I, long ago, yelled out a curse, aimed solely at him, the great winged gargoyle.

He lays down flat on his back, his arms behind his head and his face to the heavens, the moon making his skin look more pale then usual. I lay softly beside him and feel how truly cold the stone is.

"Raoul, this is freezing," I scold. Taking off my cloak I wrap it around us both, wrapping my arms protectivly around him, "Come here."

He closes the remaining space between us and continues to look at the stars, then looks at my face, "You never seemed so pale, not until now. Under the moonlight you appear almost to be the ghost you title yourself to be."

"I could say the same about your skin, Raoul, though I have seen it this pale, unfortunatly," I wrap my fingers of my right hand in his hair.

He burries his face in my shoulder, then looks to the sky once more, and whispers, "When I die the only thing that will ever truly matter is the point that I found my angel while I was still here."

My eyes sting with unshed tears. As one falls, he swipes it away with a kiss.

"Come on," he whispers, his lips brushing against my ears, "let's go home."

Hearing him call 'my' home 'our' home pulls at my heart, and I smile, but I am left no time to dwell upon it as he pulls my hands and leads the way back down, taking things nice and slow.

When we do finally return the most beautiful scent fills the air. I look for the source and see a trail of roses leading from near my feet all the way to my room. I follow them and what I see shocks me enough to hold the roses that I had picked up on the way.

The entire room is filled with flowers. Every inch of bare space is filled with either a black or red rose. The smell is overpowering, yet I can't get enough of it.

Raoul steps in behind me, "I've never seen your room."

The comment startles me, though it is very true. His eyes search what used to be an empty room. There are a few stray paintings covering the walls, all my own work, there are piles and piles of finished and unfinished pieces of music, and then there is the bed, which is really a more a coffin.

The room seems to glow with the sudden bursts of red filling it.

"Raoul, how…?" my voice trails, choked by tears of amazement.

"While I was still sick and you had finally been shooed off by her to sleep she told me that you were a sucker for roses. I arranged this with her," he explains. "Do you like it?"

I look at him and sigh, "I love it."

"Really?" he looks up expectantly.

"Really," I wrap my hand around the back of his neck and pull him to me for a deep kiss, silencing all other questions.

His eyes close automatically on cantact, and mine slowly follow.

The kiss is only borken when he softly pulls away, "Wait."

"What is it?" I take his arm.

He grins, "There's one last thing to show you."

Silently he leads the way back to his own room, where the smell also returns full force. Lying on his bed are rose petals, lightly scattered, as if by the wind.

I pull him to me, his back against my stomach.

"Raoul, we were barely gone thirty minutes," I manage to sigh out.

"I did this before we left," his hand reaches up and lightly touches my mask. I feel his fingers move further up, touch the skin right above my mask, and then move back down to peel it away. He places it carefully down on a desk to our right and then uses his own hand to mask my face, his fingers making a soft cage around my disfigured flesh, much more pleasant then the porcelain of the mask I'm used to.

Slowly his hand moves down to my neck, and then drops to his side. He makes a fast turn in my arms, forcing an arm between us, the other hand resting lightly on my shoulder and the hand that lays between us pressing hard into my chest. Feeling my heart start to race I wonder if his is doing the same.

Soundlessly, I steal his lips in a heated kiss. It seems so long since I last felt my love's smooth lips against my own, burning my skin. My tongue slips its way out of my mouth and into his, savouring the taste that has been denied so long. My hand comes up and wraps behind his head, pulling him closer and allowing my tongue more freedom to roam his mouth. His tongue meets mine and the two lock in a silent battle of passion.

A moan resonates deep in his throat.

I remove my lips from his, pulling my tongue back and causing a slight whimper to escape his lips. I start to draw a light line of kisses along his jaw line and he throws his head back, allowing me easier access to his neck. The soft, pale skin is so inviting that I start to trail the kisses there next. My hands the whole time are making quick and easy work of his jacket and shirt, pushing them off his arms before backing him toward the bed. When he finally lowers himself down the rose petals take off and drift back down, surrounding us with a pool of crimson. Taking my time with him, the kisses almost hesitantly leave his neck, over his still aparent love bite, and rest on his collar bone next. My teeth nip at the sensitive skin surrounding the bone, causing my angel to throw his head back in a cry of pleasure. My mouth moves lower, resting over his pounding ribcage. If his heart was not racing before it is now.

He makes his first move, wrapping his fingers in my hair and silently begs for more.

I keep moving at my slow, agonizing pace, letting both of our boddies beg for more. My kisses move to his stomach and his back arches as I run my tongue over his bellybutton. Muscles quiver beneath my mouth and my arousal starts to painfully push on my pants. I ignore the pain, the pleasure outdoing the pain enough to forget it easily.

"Erik," he pleads.

I raise myself on my arms and move my face to meet his, "Yes, Raoul?"

Our voices are both broken by our fast and panting breathing. He does not answer though, and instead takes the opportunity to pin me down and start to undo my shirt. His legs straddle my hips as his back hunches to lean down and place a kiss on my lips, almost tearing my shirt to shreds pulling it off.

"Now be careful, Raoul," I mock scold.

He lets his hands enter the top of my shirt, massaging my muscles as his fingers roam my skin.

Finally succeeding in removing my layers of shirts he allows me to flip him on his back once more.

I take my chance to undo his pants as his hands cross mine, doing the same for me. We both finish simultaneously and we shed ourselves of our clothes form the waist down.

Now skin on skin our hips scrape together and neither of us pull back, now unembarassed by our own wants and needs.

I feel his arms dig into my shoulders as he pins me down once more. I allow myself to be ruled again, with a feeling of knowing what he is doing. He takes some lotion and starts to aply it to my burning flesh, bringing me close to my own climax. I do not allow myself to come though.

I do the same thing for him and he bites back a cry at first contact.

I move him closer and closer until I can tell he is not far.

I then flip him down onto his stomach. Placing my hand right back to where he wants it I slowly start my rhythm. The start is rough, for we do not stay in perfect sync, but then everything falls away as our bodies scream for release. And finally release comes.

We both cry out and he collapses first, exhausted. I lay gently by his side. When he curls against me I can smell the roses on his skin, as I'm sure the scent is on mine as well, having gotten the scent from the petals that we crushed in our long denied release.

There is no need for words, as we lay together in our silent aftermath. I reach slowly around him and kiss his lips before kissing his cheek, and laying back down.

It is in this silent moment that his words from not so long ago return to me:

There is nothing separating us now. Christine is gone, the division is gone.

And though I hate to admit it, he was right all along. Christine was our division, and now the two of us are together, and as I fall asleep that's the only thing that matters to me.

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a/n: please review! only 3 more chapters people!