V. One Love, one Lifetime
"I'm worried, Raoul." Already in her lacy white nightshirt, Christine was sitting at the edge of the bed, her hairbrush in one hand, tugging at the blanket uncertainly.
Pulling on an overlarge white shirt to go with the loose-fitting pair of trousers he was already wearing, Raoul sighed. "Me too. But let us not think of it for tonight."
Christine nodded slowly, resuming her former activity of brushing her hair. "I will try."
"You don't sound too convinced."
"I can't stop worrying that easily." Once again she lowered the brush and looked at nothing in particular, her expression one of dismay.
Sitting down beside her, Raoul gently took the brush from her. "Here, let me do that." Smiling as she leaned against him, he carefully began the task of untangling her wild mane of dark curls. Altogether, he got the feeling that it was a losing battle, yet he enjoyed every minute of it, especially being able to have her close and inhale her scent deeply.
"And I always thought nobody could ever be stronger than him", Christine said softly, and it was not difficult to guess who she meant. "I used to believe nothing could harm him. He was in control all the time, and he knew what to do."
"Seems he has found his match, then", Raoul stated, almost with a twinge of jealousy noting the compassion in her voice. What had that loathsome creature ever done to deserve it?
"There was nothing he was afraid of, I think", Christine continued. "Except himself, what he was – whatever that is, exactly. But now… he's frightened. Very much so."
Raoul had to admit to himself that he had not noticed this at all. "Who wouldn't, in his situation?" he commented. "I would be afraid, too, if there was some scheming lunatic with a bunch of obedient worshippers after me."
"It's not for himself, though. It's for me he fears."
Raoul froze. "For you?" No, it couldn't be! She was in no danger at all! She had to be! "But… you won't be any further involved in this", he said urgently. "Promise me you won't."
"He thinks that they might try to get at me in order to get at him", Christine explained.
"Then out in the street he goes!" Raoul cried furiously. "I won't have him under my roof if he draws any danger to you!"
"No, Raoul, he stays. And it doesn't matter where he is. As long as they have me, they can track him by our… connection."
Raoul took a deep breath, trying to calm himself. Christine was just worried, that was all. And tired. She was imagining things. "You can't be sure", he said. "How would you know? Besides, you're worrying yourself too much."
"He is sure. And if anyone knows, he does."
"Now look here, darling", Raoul reasoned, "you know how taken with you he is. That on top of his being… well, somewhat deranged, and he's getting paranoid at even the slightest suggestion that you might be in danger." Not entirely convincing, but it was worth the try.
"Would you mind taking me seriously, for a change?" Christine snapped, making Raoul drop the brush in surprise. "I'm not some silly little sissy scared out of her wits! And he isn't, either!"
"Sorry", Raoul murmured, pulling her towards him to place a kiss on her cheek. He did not want her to be upset, yet it annoyed him to a certain extent that she would rather believe that Phantom friend of hers than him.
"I do hope you are", Christine answered haughtily, but then she twisted around in his arms and hugged him tight. "I'm so sorry, Raoul. I really shouldn't be that mean to you."
"That's alright", he muttered, enjoying the scent of her hair. Even had he wanted to, he was utterly unable to be angry at her.
"I have no idea what suddenly got into me", she confessed. "It felt like… I don't know. Like a sudden flaring-up of temper." She laughed uncertainly. "Strange. I don't do that normally."
"That's alright, love, really", Raoul assured her. "You're tired, and you've had quite a day. Tomorrow you'll feel better."
"Yes. Tomorrow." To Raoul, she did not sound as convinced as he would have liked her to sound, but luckily the glint in her dark eyes returned soon. "Will you finish brushing me now, so we can go to bed?"
"With pleasure", Raoul laughed, resuming his enjoyable battle with her hair. For once, it distracted him from all the dark thoughts lurking in the recesses of his mind. "Why do you brush your hair at all? As soon as you lie in bed, it won't be two minutes until it's all messed up again."
"Because you keep lying on it", Christine claimed, kissing the tip of his nose.
"I don't", he protested.
"You do! All the time!"
"And you lie on mine!" Raoul accused her, with an exaggerated pout. "So, I think I'm done for now."
"Not diligent enough", she reproached him teasingly.
"No, and I don't mind, because it's bedtime for you. I'll brush you all afternoon tomorrow, if you want me to." Yawning hugely, he crawled under the covers and held them up for Christine to join him, dropping the hairbrush onto the nightstand. "But no more work tonight."
"Alright, no more work, my love." Christine snuggled in beside him. "Good night, sweetheart."
"I love you", he whispered to her. She knew, of course, but he would never get tired of telling her, over and over again.
"I love you too, Raoul." One of her arms came to rest across his waist. "And you know what? This is what our married life will be like, won't it? Us going to bed after a long day, discussing a few things while you brush my hair, and then we hold each other tight, and you tell me you love me, and I tell you the same. Every night. For all of our lives." She snaked her other arm under the back of his neck, and he rolled onto his side to be closer to her. "That's all I really want, Raoul."
Refraining from a naughty comment about what else she might eventually want, he wrapped his arms around her as tightly as he could, making her gasp. "I'll never let you go", he promised.
For some time they just lay beside each other in silence, as close as they could be. Then Christine yawned softly and repeated, sleepily, "Good night, then."
"We haven't discussed breakfast yet", it occurred to Raoul.
"You can think of that tomorrow."
"Good point. I'll have all night to dream up what I'll take." And he really hoped he would only dream of his breakfast.
