To Live Again 6
A/N- I hope my Scotsmen are convincing, I'm very bad with accents.
Dedicated to Heather and Adam, the world's cutest couple, and the best friends anyone could hope for.
Haral stared at the wall in front of him.
Joelle was unavailable.
Joelle didn't love him.
He had lost the perfect woman.
His wild sprite, spirited like a Scotswoman. Like a Valkyrie.
A harsh, animalistic howl tore from his throat.
"JOOOOOOEEEEELLLLLLLLLEEEEE!"
"I see things dinnae go so well with the lass?" Willem's voice asked.
"Nay." He said, voice hoarse. "She loves someone else."
"Ah, well, there're plenny other fish in t' sea." Will replied.
"None like Joelle."
"Do yeh really love the lass?" His twin asked.
"Ye know I do." He muttered.
"Then don' ye want 'er teh be happy?"
"I do."
"Perhaps someday she'll come back. Until then, find someone who can fill the void. Mebbe yeh'll find someone better."
"I doubt it."
"Try. Take comfort in the friendship yeh still have." Will advised.
"I'll try." Haral agreed sadly.
"That's the spirit."
"Check." Joelle said confidently, eyes twinkling as she grinned at him across the table.
Erik raised an eyebrow, examining the setup. All he needed was a few seconds before he moved, smirking. "Mate, my dear." He replied.
Her jaw dropped, and she stared at the board. "How…?"
He laughed, "You underestimated your opponent. How many times I've beaten Daroga with that move."
She pouted, trying to see any way which she could have avoided that trap. "You're just too good at this!"
"You're pretty good for a beginner." He soothed, "You'll get better at it." He tried not to think how cute she looked when she pouted, or how tempting those rosy lips were.
"Hmmm… Not good enough to beat you, though, my brilliant love." She muttered.
As always, the term of endearment made his heart flutter pleasantly. "One never knows." He recovered, "Perhaps with enough practice…" He left that statement hanging.
Love shone in her eyes as she smiled back at him. God, how could he have not noticed so long? How could he think he could just be her friend? That mischievous little half-smile of hers was absurdly tantalizing, so much more alluring than it should have been.
"Have I ever told you of the time Raoul got his head stuck in a log?"
"WHAT?" The statement caught him off guard. "In a what?"
She snickered, "A log!"
"The fop…was stuck in a log." He mused, "Oh, you must tell me this one, Jo." He chuckled.
"Well, I was off with Dom and Rojer." That flash of fear in her eyes, even now. It infuriated him that Rojer could still frighten her. She continued, smile slightly distracted. "Raoul was visiting and was not content to wait, so he came along. We were in the woods, and Dom said he thought he saw a hare dive into this truly revolting half-rotted log. There was a small hole, and Raoul wanted to see it. His head fit in ok, but when he tried to take it out, it stuck!" She giggled, "So there he was, bugs crawling down his formerly immaculate white shirt. He tried to stand up, and half of the log broke off and came with him! Dom had to cut it off, piece by piece! I sort of felt bad because he was bawling like a baby, but I couldn't stop laughing!" She sobered a bit, "So for the rest of the visit, Dom and Rojer taunted him, calling him stumpy, bugs, blockhead… things of that nature. They just wouldn't let him live it down. Finally, I got them to stop by threatening dismemberment and slow castration. You should have seen the looks on their faces! I was ten, then, but they knew enough to take me seriously by then." She sighed, "Raoul followed me for weeks. I was as nice as I could be; he gets enough people not taking him seriously, so I thought it would help if I just listened now and then. He wasn't such a bad guy, once he realized that I wasn't going to coddle him or lie to him 'for his own good'. I guess everyone needs to be treated like they mean something by someone. So, every time he came over, he would stick to me like glue. Now I wish I would have just ignored him."
Erik thought, "No, you couldn't have known how he'd turn out." Then it dawned on him, "Castration? Dismemberment? From sweet little you?"
She giggled, "I did mention I was a tough little thing."
"…Castration…?" He was shocked. It was hard to even picture that threat coming out of her. Sure, she was flippant, sometimes nearly as sarcastic as him, but never quite vicious.
She laughed even harder, nearly falling off the chair. Escaped hair stuck out at odd angles off her head.
He shook his head, "Darling, you continue to surprise me."
She winked, "Well, good. I wouldn't want you getting too bored." She tucked some of the loose hair back, looking up exasperatedly, "Now, you see, that is why I think it's funny when people say I'm pretty." She stated, pointing irritatedly at the curl.
He snickered. "I don't think your hair's going to stop doing that just because you glare at it."
"One never knows."
"Hello, Dom." Joelle chirped.
"You're in a good mood." He remarked.
"I had a good night. Erik knows just the right things to say."
"You two haven't…?"
"Lord, no!" She gasped, "I…he…uh…we…" She floundered, "It's just not the right time. Besides, he hasn't expressed any such desire." She hastily finished. "If I even knew how, that is."
He grinned mischievously, "Ah, so it's all a matter of opportunity."
"When did you get this randy?"
"I'm getting married in two weeks, I have a right to be like this!"
"Ah, getting out last minute bachelor remarks?"
"You know it. So how is your man?"
"Adorable."
"Seriously." Dom chided.
Joelle smiled, "He seemed a lot better. He said he wouldn't mind meeting you. Perhaps you could come tonight?"
"Trying to get it out of the way?"
Joelle blushed, "Dom, how do I put this? I love my Erik dearly, but the man's hopelessly moody. It's best to find a time when he's not brooding or paranoid."
Dom snickered. "No wonder you two get along so well."
"I resent that."
"You resemble that."
She stuck her tongue out at him.
He clapped, "Bravo, bravo! Such an astounding display of maturity!"
She rolled her eyes, "I don't envy Colette her task of training you to be a well-mannered man."
"I don't envy Erik your sharp tongue, you little shrew." He responded automatically.
She glared at him, he glared back, then they both burst out laughing.
"We…still got it!" He said finally.
She shook her head, still laughing.
Erik was perusing an older copy a Greek comedy when he heard voices outside. He took a deep breath to quell his instinctual reaction of instant panic to listen.
"Pixy." Said a vaguely familiar man's voice.
"Ass." Replied a female voice that he would know anywhere.
"Lovelorn fool."
"Ah, dear brother, now that could apply to either one of us. Now couldn't it?"
"Very well, then I must concede to that point."
He sighed, relaxing a little. It was only Joelle and her brother. She had said something about bringing him by later on, 'sooner rather than later to lay his doubts at rest.' A shard of a mirror, broken in one of his fits of rage, lay on the shelf beside him. He saw his reflection, the more human side of his face revealed, but the twisted, deformed lips all too visible. As always, he hated the reflection he saw.
"Are you sure he's here?"
"Yes." Her voice was sad. He knew why. She hated that he needed to hide away.
Erik found himself looking at something: the mask he had mentioned to Christine. 'A mask that makes me look like anybody' he had said of it. A thought occurred to him, but now wasn't the time to do that yet. 'Later.'
"Well then, why hasn't he come out?"
"He will, Dom. Unless he mistook you for Raoul. In which case, he's probably getting that nice little rope toy of his."
Amused, he rolled his eyes at the young man's impatience. He was nervous about meeting the man he'd only ever heard before. Experience had taught him only to expect uncomplimentary looks and rejection.
'No,' he thought, 'Joelle wouldn't have brought him, then.'
'Then why do I hesitate? I trust her. She's given me reason to do so.'
With that last thought, he went to the door, and went to meet Joelle.
When she saw Erik, Joelle ran to hug him. She felt him tense up slightly, and then relax.
'I wish I knew why he always tenses up.' She thought, then dismissed it, 'at least he relaxes for me.'
She looked up into his eyes, seeing anxiety in them. "Don't worry," she whispered, "I'm sure you two will get along fine. And if things get awkward, I've got plenty of 'awkward teenage Raoul' stories that you'll both enjoy."
"I'm sure you two will get along fine." Joelle whispered.
Erik gave her a very doubtful look, remembering, as he always did, his deformity, and particularly the visibility of his twisted lips… His twisted lips which he now found Joelle kissing.
"Don't doubt yourself." She chided quietly.
He had to smile. That kiss reminded him of everything they had, and the reason he was out here. He reached down for her hand, which readily curled around his. He could definitely do this…So long as she didn't leave his side.
Dom could definitely see the insecurities that plagued the man. But he could also see the definite love Joelle had for him, and though he didn't know the other man's feelings, his actions revealed trust in his sister.
That was good enough, for now. The rest, he would find in time.
Introductions were given, and Dom noticed that Erik did not consent to shaking his hand.
Erik seemed to avoid contact with everyone but Joelle. That didn't surprise him too much. The Opera Ghost would be a very wanted man if anyone knew that he was alive, so distrust was inevitable. It concerned him to think of the man's crimes, but for Joelle's sake, he would not tell. Besides, he owed the man his life; betrayal was unthinkable.
He wondered idly what lie behind the white mask on the man's face, but decided to save that question for later.
Or never; the man had been handy with the lasso, if Joelle's account was anything to go by.
Erik couldn't help but blush a bit when Joelle introduced him as 'Erik, the love of my life.'
She meant it.
Even knowing her as he now did, that still surprised him.
Dom held out a hand to shake, and he involuntarily drew back.
Damn.
Even after this long, the conditioning was still with him.
He wondered if he had ever completely left the Freak Show.
Joelle steered conversation in a safe direction, effectively diverting her brother.
Erik felt grateful for that.
Soon conversation became more comfortable, with more amusing sibling banter scattered throughout, and, as they went inside, he relaxed, drawing strength from the acceptance in the atmosphere, and the soft, loving presence beside him of Joelle. Now and then, as they walked in, their sides would brush together. The contact with her was reassuring, as was the fact that she did nothing to avoid it.