Disclaimer: Don't own PotO… just Adrien and Isabella…

Chapter XI – The Ties That Bind

Erik cleared his throat, and Isabella and Adrien broke apart. "Very nicely done," he said, standing from the bench. "I was surprised you brought the notes down an octave, but the nice touch at the end saved you."

He smirked at them and swept elegantly from the room.

Adrien looked at Isabella nervously. That kiss had been an impulsive thing, not something they were planning. When she'd spun around, she was so close to him… He couldn't resist. Isabella was looking slightly flushed herself. To her, the kiss had somehow seemed right for the moment. She took Adrien's hand and they moved down the hall. He finally broke the uneasy quiet when they reached the underground tunnel.

"Isabella, I'm really sorry about that. I should have shown more self-control."

"Please don't apologize. I thought exactly the same thing you did; that's why I spun around."

"Really?" he turned to look at her in the half-lit passage.

Isabella moved closer to him. "Yes. Adrien, I…"

She trailed off, looking away, but he took her chin in his hand and tilted her face up to his.

"Isabella…" he whispered.

She threw her arms around his neck and their lips met again, harder, more sure than before. It seemed to last forever, but they finally broke apart.

Isabella had never felt this emotion before. "Adrien, I love you," she whispered.

He kissed her again. "I love you, too. I knew it from the moment I saw you. I should have told you every moment since then, but I was too afraid of what Erik would say."

"Would he object?" she asked, allowing him to lead her further down the passage.

"That's just it," he said. "I don't know what he'd do. He could say 'Congratulations', but somehow I don't think that'd happen in a million years; he could take it in and not say anything at all; he could dissolve completely, remembering what happened with Christine; or he could explode, trying to protect me from what happened to him when he loved Christine."

Isabella nodded, though she knew he couldn't see her in the dark.

"Then perhaps we should wait and see what his mood is like before telling him."

Adrien only lit one candelabrum when they entered her room.

"Perhaps you should play tonight," Isabella suggested. "I can't hear Erik playing anything, and I enjoyed having a soothing melody to put me to sleep last night."

The absence of the music made her shiver slightly. Adrien noticed this and said quietly, "Of course I will. That is," he added on a thought, "if Erik will let me near the piano again."

Isabella giggled. "If not, I'll make him let you. You play so wonderfully."

He smiled. "Alright, then. Bonne nuit, mon ange."

And he left.

Isabella changed into her nightgown and snuggled under the sheets. A few moments later, she heard the six-bar introduction of Phantom of the Opera. Adrien played the beginning part, her part, then went on to sing his own. Isabella was amazed to hear the words, so unlike what they'd sung not fifteen minutes before, but just as beautiful.

"Ce soir, la scène est mise…

Nos chants se mêlent…

Ma main, mes mots, ma voix…

Je t'ensorcelle…

Et si ton doux regard…

Se perd parfois…

Tu sais que le Fantôme de l'Opéra

Est la, en toi…"

He sang in French, and to Isabella the words were pure magic. She nodded off to sleep wrapped in the cloak of his magnificent song.

For those of you who are sharper than the rest, you'd ask: Aren't they already singing in French? It is France, after all. And the answer to your question would be yes, they are in France, and I remembered that they would be singing in French halfway through writing the words down. So I said to myself, 'I don't care, and I hope everyone else enjoys it.'

French portion of the DVD: Totally rocks! …although Raoul's voice is REALLY strange. Oh well. Fopness. Gotta love it. And for those who are really sharp, there was a reference to Pirates of the Caribbean (Johnny! Orlando!) in there ('I should have told you every day from the moment I met you…')

And I'm afraid that's as steamy as it's gonna get. I'm not fond of writing sequences where they actually have sex, so for that reason you will probably never find any in my works. Thanks for understanding! Go cut yourselves with all that sharpness…

Until next time…

Phantomfreak07