A/N: Hugs and cupcakes to everyone who reviewed! Hope you like this chapter, cuz we're almost done!

At that moment, my mind ceased to function entirely. My heart was pounding in my chest so loudly I thought I would go deaf. All I could see were Erik's perfect green eyes, glowing almost gold in the candlelight, begging me to say yes. Tell him you'll stay, my heart demanded. Throw yourself into his arms, and tell him you love him and want only to be with him…well, maybe I should be a little gentler than throwing; the last thing I wanted was to inflict some kind of injury on him. I turned my back to him; I couldn't let the look on his face persuade me into doing something I might later regret.

The darkness was not so bad, not when he was standing beside me; one could grow accustomed to it. And there was always the roof, should I need fresh air and sunlight. I remembered his arms around me when we danced on the roof, the feel of the breeze in my hair as the sun rose. How many more moments like that awaited me if I stayed? This time, I would bring him out of the shadows with me, and we could watch Paris coming alive below us. To stay would hardly be any great sacrifice. After all, I was unsure of our welcome there anyway; who knew what it would be like when we got there? Perhaps I ought to stay…

No! God, what was I thinking, what demon had entered my soul and allowed me even for a moment to contemplate that? I would die, here in this mockery of a home. I would rot without companionship, without a window to look out when the weather was fine, without bird songs to wake me. And what would happen when we had quarrels, Erik and I? For I knew we would, and then we would have no other company to seek, no way to distance ourselves from each other, before coming together again. We would be forced to rely on each other entirely, and that was a burden no person should have to bear. I knew I could not be his sole support, and he could not be mine. What of children? If I stayed, it would only be as his wife, and that would lead to children. How could we get a doctor? How could I force a child to live here? It was impossible, absolutely and completely impossible, and I would not allow myself to be persuaded otherwise. For the first time in my life, I felt with total certainty that my choice was the correct one, that I could have no true regrets following the course of action I had settled upon.

He saw her answer in her face before she said a word. He knew what she would say as soon as she turned back to face him once more.

"Forgive me, Erik, but I cannot…"

How could she say it so calmly? Did she even realize what it had cost him to ask? Had she no feelings, no sympathies, no heart at all? Her eyes were clear, almost cold, and her face was firmly set in determination. How dare she show him such affection, then throw it back in his face when he allowed himself to be vulnerable to her? Well, he would show no more weakness to her, let her regret her kisses. He felt anger rising in his chest, pushing away physical pain and sadness, and giving him strength.

"Erik…" Her voice was softer this time, pleading almost, but he would not allow her to escape from her rejection, would not let her finish whatever excuse she was to come up with.

"I wonder that you bothered to return at all, if you so despise my home." He could hear the chill in his own voice, and saw her face turn to an expression of confusion. "Why come back, and make me believe that you care, if you were only going to leave again anyway?"

"Erik, let me explain…"

"Believe me, your words need no explanation. Your refusal was clear, and you have said quite enough. Now tell me, what brought you back here? Pity for a monster? Or did you just need more money?" He dug his fingernails into his palms, pressing so hard he could feel them through the bandages.

Perhaps I ought to have been a little less firm in my response, but this was ridiculous. I heard the sense of betrayal in his voice, and felt I would have begun to cry, had he not suggested that my motives for returning were of such a callous nature.

"Come, Remy, why your false affection?" He had gone too far.

"You fool! Do you truly believe that I could be so unfeeling?" Again, that came out a little stronger than I had intended, but it produced the desired effect of stopping his ire, and giving me enough time to explain. "I want to be with you, but not like this."

He stood, facing me, seemingly frozen in place by my words.

"Erik, I came back because I knew I would regret it if I didn't. I came back because I've walked away from love once in this lifetime, and did not plan to do so again. I came back because…I think I'm in love with you."

My whole body was shaking, and I could see tears began to drip out of his eyes and down his cheeks, though he lowered his head to hide them.

"Then why…?"

"I want you to come to Marseille with me, Erik. I want to get you out of this cursed darkness, into the light."

He stood there, unmoving, the light from the candle's reflecting on the trails left by his silent tears.

He was so ashamed he could say nothing, so shocked he could not move. All he could do was stand there and let tears fall. He felt her hand on his face, gently caressing his cheek, but he could not look at her.

"Erik, please say something." He could hear the pleading in her voice, but how could her pity save him now?

"I can't." She was right, he was a coward, but it was too late for him to try to start his life again. He would be nothing but a burden to her, and she would come to resent him.

"What? Why in God's name not?" She was angry now, and her hand fell to her side.

"This face…"

"Erik, I don't care, I don't care about your face; please, you are being irrational."

"Irrational? Do you know nothing of the world? How can you possibly understand how much this face has cost me? You are a creature of the light, you deserve it. Go to Marseille and be happy there, you don't need me for that."

"But I do!" Now she was crying as well, and he wanted so badly to hold her, but he couldn't bring himself to move.

"And how do you envision our life together? Do you honestly believe that we would be happy there?" He could see their life together as clearly as if he was gazing into the future; he would hate her for exposing him to the world, she would hate him for not allowing her to live a life full of society.

"Of course I do, or I wouldn't have asked you to come with me." He should have known it was not in her nature to give up so easily. He had nothing to say, just stared at her. "The only reason you won't leave is because you are afraid to try. Do you really think that the entire world is full of evil?"

"You can't understand…" What did she know of what he had suffered at the hands of evil men?

"Please, spare me your condescension. I know very well the inhumanity humans are capable of. The real difference between us, Erik, is that you are only willing to see what is wrong with the world, and you are afraid to admit that there might be some good, because then you would be proven wrong."

I could see that my words were having no effect on him at all. How could I have been so arrogant as to think that I could force him from his life here? He was too set in his fear of life, too stubbornly broken to allow me to try to fix him. What a fool I had been to believe that I would be able to draw him from his half-lived life.

I would go, and he would stay. Perhaps in the re-opened opera house he would find some consolation for his pain, as I obviously could not provide him with any.

A/N: What, you didn't think I was gonna make it easy, did you?