In Touch

In the passages under the Opera, Antoinette Giry glanced back over her shoulder at Christine, taking note of the younger woman's trepidation. She was uncertain of the welcome she would receive from Erik, and it was wise that she should be. Antoinette felt her own uncertainty at the wisdom in the action. She had spent the past two months watching Christine struggle to understand the depth of her own emotions, and resisting the girl's every effort to pry some news of Erik from her. She had not trusted the true conviction of Christine's heart. The girl's past inconstancy where Erik was concerned was simply not acceptable, nor was Erik's obsessive manipulation of Christine. The two had nearly destroyed one another once already...leaving Antoinette's beloved Opera Populaire in ruins. Such a thing could not be allowed to happen again.

So she had stubbornly resisted this reunion at first, but as the days continued to pass, Antoinette's sharp eyes and even sharper mind began to notice certain little oddities in Christine's demeanor. Oddities that a woman of her age and experience in the Paris theater had been more observant of than most, and she understood that the time for resisting had likely passed. On this night, her own Meg had insisted that it was time, and Antoinette only prayed that she would not live to regret her decision.

Coming to a stop at a seemingly innocuous spot in the tunnel, Antoinette pushed against an oddly shaped stone imbedded in the wall. Christine jumped as the wall behind her rumbled and began to shift, revealing a doorway. Christine's tension doubled as she followed Madame Giry into the chamber. There was a simple desk and lamp in the room that was revealed, and a stone wall behind. A shadow seemed to dance in the corner of the wall, making Christine realize that there was another opening there…and then the shadow took form.

Erik's familiar tenor filled the chamber. "Ah, Madame Giry, have you brought what I...?" When his eyes landed on Christine, all trace of easiness fled from his voice. "What have you done, you foolish woman?"

Antoinette raised an eyebrow. "I have brought you what you needed, Erik." She set the parchments and loaves of bread on the desk. "As I always do. I trust that Mademoiselle Daae will be safe in your presence."

Christine spoke then, but her eyes remained fixed on Erik. "I assure you I will be, Madame." She glanced only briefly at the older woman. "Thank you."

Antoinette nodded and disappeared in the direction she had come, leaving Christine alone with Erik. Her eyes raked over him, taking in every beloved detail. He looked paler than usual, and more haggard than she had ever seen him before. He wore black trousers and a white shirt open at the throat, his former elegance forgotten, and a leather mask was fixed on his drawn face. Still, Christine had never seen a sight so beautiful.

Erik nearly growled in frustration and turned his back to Christine. He longed to wrap her in his arms, but she could never know know that. "What must I do to be rid of you?"

Christine flinched at the pain his words caused her, but the weeks on her own had made her stronger. She drew a fortifying breath to keep her voice from trembling, "Only death will free you from me, Erik, and even that may not be enough."

He turned to her in surprise. "You would speak of death so carelessly?" He smirked, "Singing for your supper at the Theatre Mystere has done wonders for your disposition, Christine."

Christine could not help the small smile at hearing that he had not been ignorant of her time away from him. Perhaps she had not been mad to have felt his presence all these weeks. "Did Madame Giry tell you of that, or have you come to see me?"

He huffed, "Who in Paris has not heard the latest gossip about the great Christine Daae? Whisked away by a monster, abandoned by a fiancée and left to slum in the second theater."

Christine shuddered, knowing well what her reputation was now…and soon to be even worse, she suspected. "I was abandoned by no one but you, Erik."

Erik's eyes flashed, "And still you return here. Why Christine? Nothing has changed since last we spoke."

Her temper sparked, "When last we spoke, I told you that I loved you…and you swore yourself to me. Then I woke naked and alone with only a note."

His words dripped with venom. "A wiser woman would have known when she was no longer wanted."

Christine stiffened and sucked in a startled breath, but she did not retreat from his challenge. Narrowing her eyes, she moved determinedly closer to him, raising her hands to his face to draw his head down. "If you no longer want me, Erik, then prove it." The last word was whispered against his mouth before she captured his lips, pouring all of her pent up passion and frustration into the kiss.

For several agonizing seconds, Erik stood passive in front of her, and she began to doubt. Then a helpless groan rumbled from his chest and his arms came possessively around her as he returned her kiss with ardor. So much for Erik not wanting me, she thought.

But just as violently as he had given in, Erik pushed Christine away from him and turned his back on her. His hands clenched into fists at his sides and his voice was thick with sorrow, "Why must you keep tormenting me? Why will you not just take your freedom and go?"

Christine drew an unsteady breath and pressed her hands to Erik's back. "I will never be free of my love for you…just as you will never be free of yours for me."

Erik turned quickly and gripped Christine's shoulders, his eyes gleaming with untold pain and longing. "You were a fool to come back to me, Christine."

She raised her right hand to cup his flawless cheek. "Then let me be a fool, Erik…only let me be with you."

He closed his eyes a moment. Send her away…you must send her away. But… "God forgive me. I cannot let you go again." His voice hardened with determination. "I will not let you go."

Erik pressed his mouth hard against hers, and Christine surrendered without hesitation, wrapping her arms around his neck in an effort to pull him even closer. For two months, she had longed to feel this passion play again. There was no gentle foreplay between them...no backward glances...they were both driven by the desperate need to be connected once again. There would be time enough later to say all that still needed to be said.

Christine tore at his shirt, pulling at it impatiently until his chest was bare. Erik groaned and lifted her against him, carrying her into the connecting chamber. The bed was small…hardly more than a cot…but it was all they needed on this night. Christine could not seem to touch him enough, and she ran her hands over his flesh, pressing her lips to his skin as he undressed her. Their clothes melted away in the fire of passion, and Erik settled her onto the cot and followed her down. Christine reached out with her left hand and tore his mask free. Erik tried to turn his head away, but she firmly turned his face back and captured his mouth again, and he was lost to her sweet seduction. His lips moved down her throat, and lower, while his hands played over her body, caressing her flesh and drawing a moan of pleasure from her.

"Erik...please..."

He bit off a harsh curse, damning himself for his weakness, but unable to resist her siren's call. He slid into her warmth, felt her body embrace him, and for one incredible moment, they hung suspended in the beauty of their joining. But the need for completion was too powerful to resist, and soon they began to move together in perfect rhythm until pleasure overtook them completely. They were swept up in a torrent of sensation, their cries of bliss blending together in the most exquisite duet. When the echoes of their song finally faded into silence, they collapsed against one another. Wild heartbeats and ragged breaths slowly returned to a steady tempo, and Erik shifted their bodies on the cot so that he could hold Christine close to him, gently tracing a loving hand over her skin.

He could feel her lips curve into a little smile against his chest as she whispered, "I love you, Erik."

Her words gave him such intense pleasure, and he knew he would not be able to send her away again. He had been right in his thinking that Christine was truly a woman now. She had sought him out on her own…again…despite everything he had done to keep her away. "And I love you, mon ange. Now close your eyes and sleep."

Christine tensed in his arms, remembering all too clearly what had happened the last time she had fallen asleep in Erik's arms. "I will sleep if you promise me that you will be here when I wake."

Erik chuckled a little at her words. Twice he had torn his own heart out to grant her freedom, he could not do so again. "I will be here, Christine. I promise you."

She sighed and her body relaxed against him. Soon her breathing began to even out as the blissful blanket of sleep claimed her.

A/N: So , Erik caved. But Christine still has her little secret to tell him...