That Face in the Mask

Chapter Eleven: Sweet Indulgence

A/N: All right, the chap you've all been waiting for... (Drumroll please)

E...M... FLUFF!

Enjoy!


Meg ran up the steps to the Opera Populaire two at a time, furiously pulling her dress up out of the way. She tugged at the door, but it was bolted and locked. Figured. She pulled harder and tugged with all her might. It still wouldn't budge. She pounded on it and groaned with frustration, sinking down against it to the ground. She held her head in her hands and tried not to cry. Everything was just going wrong with her life right now.

Suddenly, she realized what a pathetic fool she was being. The place she wanted to got to wouldn't have a public, main entrance. It was back hidden in the shadows.

Well, after twenty minutes of walking around the Opera Popluaire, she realized she couldn't find where the hell a secret passageway to Erik's lair was hidden and there was no more use trying. She went into the Opera stables and leaned against a horse stall, crying once again. She was so upset with herself for carrying on like this and felt so worthless. She wasn't really needed or wanted anywhere. She was just another worker to pay and boss around at her job, and something for her mother to scream at and mold into shape. She tried to stop these awful, self loathing thoughts from entering her mind, but they did anyway. She sank against the stall, falling to the ground and sobbing uncontrollably. What a fine mess I've gotten myself into now, she thought, freezing cold, sobbing like some pathetic idiot and now homeless because of my stupid pride, and I'm so stupid I can't even find where any one of Erik's passageways are from the outside, so I guess I'm spending the night freezing in a stable!

"Meg? "A deep voice startled her thoughts

She looked up, taking her head out of her hands. It was Erik. Oh, this is just wonderful. I'm so upset and cold I'm hallucinating things!

Erik looked at her in shock. She looked as if she'd been running for her life

"Meg, what happened? Are you all right? Are you hurt?" Erik was instantly concerned, and he immediately knelt down beside her, gently lifting her tear-streaked facewith his hand

"What's wrong?"

Meg desperately tried to answer, but she couldn't, and found herself crying and shivering even harder. Erik drew his arms around her and she leaned against him softly. He stroked her hair and whispered soothingly to her

"Shhh, Meg, calm down. It's all right. It's all right, just let it out. It's okay, you're safe now. That's it, just calm down"

Meg laid her head on his shoulder and found herself much warmer now that she was in his gentle embrace. She closed her eyes and tried to let all her remaining tears and sobs out. Erik hugged her more tightly and rubbed her freezing, small body gently. She was so petite and tiny, leaning against his broad chest for strength and support. She seemed so fragile and weak and helpless, and more than anything he wanted to comfort her and protect her, keep her here in his warm embrace forever so that no more harm or hurt could befall her.

She finally opened her eyes and looked up into Erik's kind face and laughed "Oh, Erik, I'm so sorry for worrying you like this. I'm such a fool!" Meg sobbed

Erik squeezed her shoulders gently "Hey now, it's all right. We all act like fools at some time in our lives. Now, would you like to stop crying for a moment and tell me what happened?"

Meg nodded and Erik smiled. She drew in a ragged breath 'Erik, I just feel so constricted. I loathe my job, just loathe it, and my mother was completely controlling my life! I couldn't do or say anything without her approval and I had no independence or freedom. I hate it, and tonight, using a few, uhh, choice words and phrases, I finally told her so. We just screamed and screamed at each other and I couldn't take it any longer, and I left and I have no intention of going back. And then, Cedric, when I was coming here, he, he-"

"Cedric! What happened with him?" Erik inhaled sharply "Meg, did he hurt you? Or do something to you? Is that why you're so upset?" By God, if he harmed her in any way, I swear I'm going to murder that pompous little bastard!

"No! No, Erik, nothing like that! He just was trying to make me come back and wouldn't leave me alone and I ran away from him and I ran and ran until I made it here. And I was looking for a passageway into your lair and I couldn't find it, and I was so upset and tired and cold, I just broke down right here." Meg said, looking around at the hay and the horses sleeping in the stalls

Erik laughed and laughed. Meg scoffed "What's so funny?"

"Oh Meg, I'm sorry, but really, just think for a second. You could search this place a thousand times over and never find all the passageways hidden in it. I've lived here all of my life and I've only found a fraction of them. The man who designed this was an absolute genius, and there are hundreds of undiscovered tunnels. And besides, I don't want anyone-besides you, of course- to come find me. I wouldn't be fool enough to make secret entrances obvious. There's nothing that would signal those secret doors out, and frankly, if anything does, I'd probably have to destroy it or seal it off. But, I could show you all the different passages I know sometime, if you want"

Meg smiled "I would really like that"

They both sat there for a moment, just leaning against each other, treasuring the golden moment of peaceful silence. Neither one of them ever wanted the moment to end, didn't want to break the enthralling enchantment of being so near to each other, basking in each other's warmth. Unfortunately, Erik had to when he noticed something rather important

"Meg! Oh my god, you're freezing! You'll certainly get sick again if you stay out here any longer. It's far too cold of a night to sit in a horse stable, and that cloak's so thin it's ridiculous. Here, put my cloak around you"

He removed his thick, warm cloak from his shoulders and placed it around Meg's shivering, thin body covering her in it. He cleared his throat

"Come on, we can go into my lair, and I'll fix us a drink. Sound okay?"

Meg nodded weakly. She started to stand up, but her legs were weak from running so far. Erik instantly caught her before she fell to the ground. She tried to stand up

"No, Erik, really thank you, but it's all right. I can walk"

She tried to get up again and fell right back into his arms, but this time, she was pressed securely against his chest and her face was a mere inch from his.

Both getting the same idea at the same electrifying instant, they kissed. Meg pressed her small, sweet lips onto his, conveying every bit of innocence and desire she had into his passionate, willing body. He kissed her back, sliding his lips onto hers, tasting the forbidden pleasure and indulging himself in the luxury of it. Unlike Christine's false, manipulative kiss, this one was real. Real passion, real wanting and desire, real love.

He reluctantly broke apart, rubbing his neck awkwardly. "Uhh,-"

Meg shushed him briefly by pressing her lips onto his "You don't need to say it. I know how you feel. I feel the same way" She muttered breathlessly in between kisses

Erik picked her up, literally sweeping her off her feet. She giggled flirtaously and Erik felt a low rumble of lust coming from his throat. He kissed her again, and had to force himself to stop as he carried her to his lair. He felt every inch of her young, innocent body. She was so fragile and desirable. She was practically weightless in his strong, protective grasp. He wished he could hold her here in his arms forever, completely unaware Meg was wishing the same thing as she laid her tired head on his shoulder and closed her eyes. She felt so calm and safe in his arms. Eventually, in the warmth and security of his touch, she drifted off to sleep...

Erik realized that Meg had fallen asleep on him. He considered waking her, but she looked so beautiful and peaceful while she slept, and there was no harm in letting her sleep. He felt quite nostalgic as a sharp, bitter memory forced its way into his mind as he recalled cradling Christine like this when she had fainted in his lair. No! He couldn't let himself go back. He wasn't in love with her any longer. He was free of her spell and had immediately fallen spellbound to Meg's charm and power. He loved her much more than he could begin to describe. So much more than Christine.

Erik never wanted the enchanted journey to his lair to end, but of course, it had to. He kicked a door open and shoved aside a tapestry before entering his lair. He gently nudged Meg awake

"Meg? Meg, wake up"

"Hmmm, Erik?"

"Meg, we're here"

"Oh" Meg said, waking up and coming back to reality. "Oh Erik, I had the most wonderful dream. We were, we were in a stable, of all places, and something happened and we, well, we ended up kissing each other, and you were carrying me off somewhere..."

"Meg?"

"Yes?"

" That wasn't a dream" Erik said. It was then Meg noticed that she was indeed in Erik's arms, and her lips still stung slightly from the warmth of their kiss. She laughed, embarrassed

"Well, it was a wonderful dream, and I'm so glad it was for real"

"I am too" Erik said. He kissed her again and Meg broke away laughing

"Stop it! I'll never be able to resist you if you keep this up"

"And what would be wrong with that?" Erik said seductively

Meg smiled up at him "Absolutely nothing"

Erik grinned wickedly and kissed her until they both were forced to break apart, gasping for breath. He gently laid her onto a beautiful, plush scarlet bed and softly arranged her thin gown around her legs to cover them completely. God, she was so beautiful. Her face was red and sweaty from the cold and their kissing. Her gown was torn in a few small places and the hem was completely ragged and stale smelling from sitting among the hay in the stable. A few small tendrils of her angelic blond hair had escaped from the dancer's knot her hair had been wound in and stuck to her sweaty face. The buttons were all mismatched on her cape from her haste in buttoning them and yet, she had never looked more radiant

He smiled at her and bent down to brush a tendril of hair off of her face

"Meg, you are so beautiful"

She laughed "Oh Erik, you're too good to be true. You need to stop flattering me like this. We both know how plain I am"

"You're joking! You haven't a plain feature anywhere. Everything about you is so amazingly beautiful"

"Well, I think you're the most handsome man I've ever met. And I don't care one bit about your face. You're handsome, inside and out"

She pulled him down on top of her and began unbuttoning his shirt slowly, running her hands over his smooth, muscular chest, feeling his strong, rough hands and his powerful, strong arms. He kissed her again, running his hand all over her body, feeling her soft, wavy hair, the smooth form of her neck, the restricting corset laces he wanted to untie so badly beneath her layers of clothing, the delicate curve of her breasts he felt rise and fall as she panted with desire.

Erik felt a low rumble emitting from his throat. He wanted her so badly. He wanted to just throw all sense of caution and her skirts aside and have her, right here, right now. The desire he felt couldn't get any stronger and he was certain she felt the same. The prospect wasn't completely unimaginable. He had never in his life felt such a tempting, primitive urge. He had never enjoyed the pleasures of the flesh before in his torturous isolation and was so eager to experience them and find out what he had been denied for so long.

But, he also knew that Meg was a pure virgin, completely untouched. The idea probably scared her as much or more than it scared him. They were both eager and willing, but he knew he shouldn't just act out of lust and desire and do something he'd regret later. He had to abstain from having her, and leave her just as pure and untouched as she was when she came in. It was what he knew he had to do, as much as he despised the idea.

Before he could even do anything, he felt Meg exhale with anger, and her small body went limp and cold beneath his. She gently pushed him up off of her and sat up, swinging her knees over the side of the bed closer to where he sat. He was worried over what she was going to say, worried that maybe he had been far too bold making a move like that and he had somehow offended her. Well, he had better resolve whatever was wrong sooner than later.

"Meg, what's wrong? Have I, uh, done anything to offend you?"

She glanced up at him in shock "No, no, nothing's wrong like that at all. I uh-" Her face reddened rather noticeably "I wanted to do it just as much as you did. It's just, I don't know, I started thinking about my life and I remembered the horrid fight I had with Maman and Cedric, and it made me stop and keep from doing it."

"You just cannot possibly understand how horrible Mother is. I have no independence or say in anything. She still treats me like a pathetic little child! I just get so sick of it sometimes, and I couldn't take it anymore. I hate living with her, listening to her, I hate her!"

Erik put his arm around her and sighed

"Meg, I know this is probably the last thing in the world you want to hear right now, especially from me, but just listen. You don't know how lucky you are. Your mother really loves you, and she cares about you. I think she's worried now that you're growing up so fast, and she just wants to make sure you're safe. She loves you Meg. You don't know what I would have given for a mother that loved me and worried about me that much, even if she is strict sometimes. I never had that Meg. Never. I used to just dream sometimes of a mother that would care for me, comfort me, love me. I just wished so hard that she would someday love me and want me, instead of shuddering when I was near her and telling me I was a monster. After awhile, I just stopped wishing, because I knew it'd never happen. I knew she'd never truly love me, or want me as her son, and you can't understand how much that hurt, to be denied like that, to be loathed by my mother instead of loved."

"So, you're right, I can't know the frustration or anger you feel right now towards your maman for being so strict, and I never will. But, I do know that she really loves you, much more than you think, and you are so lucky to have a mother like that meg. You really are"

Meg stared at the ground "I hadn't thought of it that way. I know that you're right and I know what I should do, but I just can't accept it right now, partly because I don't want to. I just- that's why I love being with you Erik. It's like being in a whole other fantasy world where nothing else exists but you and I. I never want to leave it. I love it"

Erik inhaled with excitement. This was it. He had to tell her.

He removed his arm from his shoulder and swiftly walked over to the organ bench, picking up what he needed.

Meg stared at his back as he walked away from her. Had she said something?

Before her mind went crazy with worries and ridiculous scenarios, Erik walked back over to her. He stopped a few steps in front of where she sat, and knelt down. Extending his hand from behind his back, he revealed a bright, fresh red rose with a velvet black ribbon tied around the stem, holding a tiny crystal charm of ballet slippers that sparkled brilliantly when they caught the light. Grasping it lightly in his hands, he knelt down on one knee before her and began to sing:

Say you'll share with me
One love, one lifetime
Lead me, save me from my solitude

Say you want me
With you here
Beside you
Anywhere you go
Let me go too, for

You alone make my song take flight

Meg, you are my music of the night

He stopped and gazed at her for a moment, before softly saying

"Meg, I love you"

She sighed softly and gasped as he handed her the rose. He stood up and she walked over to meet him, gently taking his hands

"Meg, I couldn't wait any longer to tell you. You mean everything to me and I finally realized how much I love you. I told you when you were sick, but you couldn't hear me, and I was too big a coward to admit it again until now. Meg, I love you"

She embraced him in a gentle hug and softly whispered in his ear "I love you too, Phantom"

He guided her over to the bed, where they both laid down and fell asleep in each other's arms that night, the rose between them, both realizing the love they had desperately been longing for had been there all along.