Dead and Dating

Disclaimer: I don't own the Southern Vampires. Sole copyright belongs to Charlaine Harris. I'm poor, please don't sue.

Rating: M

I just have to say. This has been one of my favorite chapters to write. It includes my 3 loves: Eric/Sookie goodness, opera, and couture fashion. I hope you all enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. This is pure Eric and Sookie fluff. I think they deserve a break after all they've been through.

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True to his word, the next night I was sitting up in the balcony seats at Teatro alla Scala. My hand was holding Eric's tightly as I watched in wonder. I had never seen anything so beautiful. I had never considered myself an opera fan, but this trip may change that. My eyes teared up while watching a beautiful girl sing 'Vissi d'arte'. Eric had gotten us tickets to see Tosca. I had never spoke a word of Italian in my life, but I knew what she was saying. Torn between two loves. When she hit a stunning high note and held it out, her voice wavering with vulnerability, I felt tears slide down my cheeks. Eric leaned over and used his thumb to brush the tears away. When the opera was over I stood and applauded. Eric escorted me outside, his arm around my waist. When we were standing out front of the opera house I turned and kissed him. It was a beautiful moment.

We were standing out front of one of the most beautiful opera houses in the world. Everything felt perfect. Eric was wearing a handsome black tux with an ivory shirt and matching tie. His hair was pulled back away from his face and tied with a hair band.

My hair was done up in a simple twist. Though it was understated and lovely, it had taken a professional to do it and to apply my make-up.

I was wearing the most expensive gown I had ever laid eyes on. It was a beautiful ivory Valentino gown. It was pure silk, with a lovely v-neck, a belted empire waist, and a long ruffled skirt. I knew how much it had cost too. I snuck a peek at the credit card slip that Eric signed when the dress was delivered. It was over $10,000.

I had been terrified to even eat in it. Dinner had been quite a production, with me trying very hard to get absolutely nothing near my gown.

This trip was going to cost him a fortune, and the fact that he shrugged it off like he was buying a pack of gum really scared me. He had also brought along my wedding jewelry for me to wear. Thankfully he didn't try to buy me new jewelry. I used to fight when he would buy me nice things, but I had figured out that he enjoyed it, it made him happy to buy me nice things.

But at this second all of that was out of my mind. I was kissing one very sexy viking/vamp in a beautiful setting. Eric pulled back from me and stared into my eyes.

"I wish I could have proposed right here. You look heavenly tonight. Did you enjoy the opera?"

"It was stunning. I had no idea I would love it so much. I had no idea that you were into opera either."

"I've been around a while, my tastes in music are varied. Besides, a beautiful opera, with a beautiful woman.." He paused for a minute, then leaned close to me. He wrapped his arms around me and whispered in my ear. "This has been the best night of my long existence , it comes second only to our wedding night."

He reached down and took my hand. We decided that it would be a nice night for a walk. The air was crisp and I had refused to bring a wrap with me because I didn't want it to take away from my dress. Eric slipped his jacket off and slid it around my shoulders the second I shivered. After wrapping his jacket around me, he put his hand on the small of my back and guided me over to a large fountain. It was all lit up. The sight nearly took my breath away. When I turned back to look at Eric he was on one knee.

"Sookie. We are already married. My only regret is that it didn't happen in a way that is fitting of fairy tales. I wanted so much to be your Prince Charming."

I smiled when he made the reference. I didn't know he knew the story. I didn't say anything, letting him continue.

"I would have liked to propose outside of Teatro alla Scala, then get married here in Milan. Things didn't work out like that. And for that I am sorry. I felt our engagement was rushed and our marriage thrust upon you."

I tried to shake my head to show him that I was not upset at all about how things happened. But he gripped my hand, instantly stopping me in my tracks, he had a very serious look on his face.

"You are everything to me. When we are apart I ache for you, I long for you, I need you. I feel like, for the first time ever, li-like, I belong somewhere. I left my family when I was still young, after I was turned. Pam has been my only family for a long time. But with you, it's different. When we make love, when we kiss, when you look at me, I feel like I am home. You are my home Sookie. You are my purpose, you are my everything."

I couldn't hold back the tears that were coming. I knew mascara was running down my face. I tried to stand him up so I could hug him, but he wasn't done yet.

"I have something that I want to give to you. Please understand that I am giving you a piece of myself, of my heritage, and of my family." He pulled out a box, larger than a ring box and opened it up. Inside was a gold-plated bronze brooch. It had beautiful intricate carvings. He sighed and ran his fingers over it.

"Sookie, this was my mother's brooch. My father gave it to her when they were married. I want you to have it."

I couldn't find the words that would adequetly express the love I felt for him at this second. He was on his knee, offering me a piece of history, a piece of his history.

"Eric.." I stood him up and gently took the brooch from his hands. I held it close to my heart and wrapped my fingers tightly around it. "I promise I will treasure this gift, always." I leaned into Eric's waiting arms. I pressed myself against him, I just wanted to be as close as possible to this beautiful man. He had given me a gift so precious that I couldn't find words to describe how I felt. He pulled away from me and sat down on the cool marble of the fountain ledge. I sat on his lap, still holding on to the brooch.

"Tell me about your mother." I wanted to know about all about her, now that I was holding a little piece of her in my hands.

"She was young when she married my father. I was her only son. My father was a great warrior and was hardly home. She took great care of me, until it was time to send me off with the men." He paused, he looked amazed that he could still remember her.

"You remind me of her, actually. She was strong and stubborn. My father had quite a time convincing her that her place was at home with me. She wanted so bad to be with him every second. They loved each other, beyond the more practical reasons for getting married. You see, things were different then. Often marriages were arranged to form an alliance between two families. But my parents loved each other." I heard him choke back a sob.

"When I left with my father to go on my first raid, she cried, she clung to me. She didn't want to let her only son go. I remember picking her up, kissing her cheeck and promising her I would return." He stopped to wipe a tear from his eye. "I was turned during that raid. By the time I was able to go back to my village, she was gone." He paused again, looking at the ground.

"I don't know what happened to her. I went to my home, everything was there except for her. Before anyone could discover me, I took the brooch and left."

By this time I was weeping openly. I was holding onto him tight. I wanted to be able to take his pain away. I had never wished for anything so much in my life. I just wanted to ease his pain.

"I'm sorry I made you talk about it." I brushed a tear off of his face.

"No, I've never told anyone that before. Not even Pam. It feels good to share with you." He leaned his head against mine and stared at the brooch that I had clasped tightly in my hands.

"You really do remind me of her." He whispered it so quietly I could barely hear him. I wiped the tears from my eyes, and then from his. I opened my hand around the brooch and he placed his over it. We sat there, holding on to the brooch for a long time. We'd completely forgotten about our appointment to go shopping, we were completely lost in time. It was like we were the only people in the world.

"What was her name?"

He flipped over the brooch and on the back was a carving.

"Asa"

Under neath that was another carving.

"Drengr"

He ran his finger over the carving. "My mother's name was Asa, my father's was Drengr."

"That is beautiful." I turned the name over in my head a few times. Asa had a lovely ring to it. If we ever did have a female child, I would name her Asa in memory of Eric's mother. Before Eric could flip the brooch back over I seen one more name carved in small letters. It looked like it had been added separately from the first two.

"Eyrk"

I pointed to the name. "That's you isn't it?" He smiled and nodded.

"My father carved that himself when I was born."

"You have given me such a precious gift." I laid my head against his shoulder.

"No, You have given me the gift of love. Something I thought I would never feel again."

He stood and picked me up with him. He started heading back to the opera house, and back to our waiting limo. I laid my head against him and held on tight.

"Eric?"

"Yes, my love."

"You truly are my Prince Charming." He gripped me a little tighter, his thumb absently brushing my arm.

~*~

I had such a long night, with so many emotions, that I fell asleep while Eric was carrying me. The next thing I knew he was laying me down on the bed in our suite. I realized I still had the brooch wrapped in my fingers.

"You should put this back in the box and place it somewhere safe until we get home." He nodded in approval and took the brooch from me, placing it in a box, and then into a locking briefcase. When he was finished he turned back to me.

"You look like an angel, laying there, swimming in that white gown."

I grinned and ran my hands over the cool silk of the gown I was wearing. I almost hated to take it off, it was the nicest thing I had ever worn. I reluctantly climbed off the bed and stood in front of Eric.

"Can you help me take it off?"

"Of course my love." He very carefully took me out of my lovely gown, he made sure to hang it up and place it in my garment bag. I slid off the heels that I had been wearing and crawled back into bed. I let my gaze wander to Eric who was stripping off his tuxedo. He looked amazing. A tall, blond, viking god of a man. When he was stripped down to only boxers he climbed into bed with me. He ran his fingertips over my stomach. His touch was like fire.

He slowly removed my bra and panties, tossing them both to the floor. He leaned down to me and kissed my neck. He stood long enough to remove his boxers and then he was back under the covers with me. He wrapped his arms around me tight and kissed the side of my neck.

"I want to make love to you."

My heart skipped a beat. The way he said 'make love' set my body aflame. He gently laid himself down on top of me. This was nothing like last night. There was nothing hurried about the way he touched me. He laid there for a few minutes, brushing his thumbs across my cheeks and staring into my eyes. I parted my legs and allowed him to rest his hips between mine. He made no effort to move us along. I could feel his excitement pressed against me, but he was taking his time. His lips met mine for a deep and searching kiss. Tears slid down my face, the passion, the love, it was so much, I could really feel the depth of his love for me. The kiss was like medicine to us. We had been so troubled, so many bad things had happened in a short period of time. But while he was kissing me it felt like all of that had melted away.

I spread my legs a little and felt him slide into me. I bit my lip to keep from moaning too loud. I didn't want to ruin this moment. Eric and I could have loud sex and enjoy it. But it was moments like these that I treasured. When neither of us needed to say a word to each other.

When I felt him ready to release I offered him my wrist. He bit his own first, offering it to me, then placed his lips on mine and bit. I had never thought I'd enjoy drinking blood, but with Eric it was different. We climaxed only seconds after sharing our blood with each other. Eric licked my wound then bent down to kiss me. He gently slid out of me and rolled onto his side, pulling me towards his chest.

We laid there, unwilling to speak, just letting the moment wash over us like waves of the ocean. We both wept openly. They were tears of joy, and tears of pain. We had lost so much, but we had also gained each other.

Eric clutched me to his chest and ran his fingers through my hair. I wrapped my arms around him and traced small heart shaped patterns on the muscles of his back.

When I fell asleep that night, I knew, that no matter what happened next, we would always have each other.