I saw Dark Knight! Ledger's Joker was really amazing. My beta—who is back!—can tell you we've had nice in-depth discussions about him. On a serious note, it's tragic that we lost a young actor with so much talent.

I'll be honest with you and say that this vignette is entirely about Raoul. I was going to do E/C afterward, but it got too long. The following vignette should be up in several days and will be entirely E/C—yummy E/C with a touch of angst and jealousy.

Thanks to all who read and reviewed the last vignette. Thanks to MadLizzy for editing.

Read and Review!!

"I don't want to wear a mask," he muttered.

She laughed and clicked her tongue. "Now you're being difficult. We've been in here for forty minutes."

"But it's uncomfortable," Raoul complained. "And I can't see out the eye holes."

"Fine. How about an eye patch?" Melanie held one up. "You could be a pirate."

Raoul plucked the plastic mask off his face and stared down at it; Frankenstein's green monster stared back. "Maybe a pirate would be better."

He'd never been to a costume party with Christine. They'd spent New Year's quietly, and….

Damn it. Why did that have to be one of his first thoughts on every date with Melanie? I didn't do this with Christine. I did do this with Christine. I liked Christine more when we did this together. Melanie was better at this than Christine.

It wasn't that he was still miserable over Christine twenty-fours of the day. He just had a terrible habit of comparing Melanie to her. At least he'd never done it out loud; that would get him a slap across the face.

Melanie was rushing down the aisles of the costume store, gathering a pirate ensemble together. She was determined to get him to this party because "her friends really wanted to get to know him." Raoul watched her as she sorted through the metal hooks that slid over the hand and wrist. Her hair was pleasant--springy brunette curls that never lost their shape. It was different from Christine's hair, which never really had a set form. Sometimes it was wavier, and other times it was--

Argh!

"Ready!" she declared, holding the items up for him to see.

"Maybe I should go as a ninja." He pointed to the black outfit; it looked loose and comfortable.

She rolled her eyes. "I've already got the pirate together."

"Fine. I'll be a pirate. But only the Captain."

She laughed and grabbed a black Captain's hat to plant on his head, becoming serious once they reached the register.

Melanie was twenty-five, and she generally acted her age, walking a tightrope between playful teenage girl and mature, working woman. At first, Raoul had been slightly dismayed that she wasn't a few more years younger than him. Now that his idealism had been destroyed, though, it was probably better for him to stay away from younger women. Raoul wasn't about to wreck some innocent girl's dreams of "happily ever after."

As fate would have it, Melanie had also been engaged years ago, right after graduating high school. She simply called it "a stupid thing that I did when I was younger."

Raoul called his problems "the giant mess that ruined everything." He had every right to be dramatic about it, too. Neither of them gave many details about their past situations.

Over their first couple of dates, he feared that Melanie was more interested in him because of his past and celebrity status. She'd asked questions that seemed innocent but had a lot of layers. How was London? What have you been up to for the past year? So…what did Falcon make? He gave vague answers and ignored her little discontented frown. Like Christine, though, Melanie didn't seem to care about his money. For their second date, she even suggested a cheap coffee house and offered to pay for herself. Of course, Raoul didn't let her.

It started off slow and cautious. They had a date once a week, somewhere simple like a restaurant or the movies…or an ice skating rink where he'd embarrassed himself more than a few times. Raoul guessed it was a good sign when he started looking forward to that date-- when it became the brightest spot on his calendar. Then again, most of his calendar was filled with meetings amid scowling, growling lawyers. A lobotomy would have been a bright spot.

But he really did enjoy going out with her.

Melanie could carry a conversation about the usual stuff: movies, television shows, and bestsellers. She was educated, and he never felt the need to dumb down the conversation. Once she stopped with the prying questions--why were women so curious?--they were fairly relaxed together.

It had gotten serious one night in late November when, after dinner at a steakhouse, she'd said, "How about an ice cream sundae?"

"Eh." He stretched his arms over his head. "I'm a little full."

"Let's split one, then. What do you want on it?"

"You can decide," he said. "But no pineapple."

"Fine." She ordered, and the gigantic dessert arrived with at least six scoops of ice cream and ten different toppings. Melanie had started laughing at it. "I think I got carried away. That was stupid."

"Now you have to eat it," he stated.

A half-panicked expression formed on her face. "You have to help."

"All right." Raoul filled a small spoon with chocolate ice cream and sprinkles, filled his mouth, and put the utensil down. "There."

"That's not fair!" Her expression was endearing.

Five minutes later, they left most of the sundae on the table, paid the bill, and went to his house. It was a good night. A very good night. And, the next morning, Raoul woke up terrified. For the first time in many months, it had been more than physical.

He'd freaked out and nearly broken up with her the very next week. The speech was all planned in his head. It's not you, Melanie. It's me. Completely me. I'm screwed up right now. All this crap happened recently. I'm sorry. Just forget about me. I'm so sorry.

All right. So it wasn't a great speech.

During their date, right before he was about to say the damning words, Melanie hesitated and then said, "Hey. I don't know if you'd be into this; some people aren't. But I like going up to the mountains in the spring. I do a little rafting and hiking. It's been awhile since I went with my friends."

"You um…you like the outdoors?" he asked.

"Yeah. I mean, I wouldn't want to live up there. It's too isolated. But I like going there occasionally for fun. Do you?"

"Yeah. I do." He suddenly forgot what he was supposed to say.

"Great." She wiped her mouth. "Was there something you wanted to tell me?"

"Uh…no."

He didn't break up with her. But it was also on that day that he'd started comparing Melanie to Christine.

Christine had never liked the outdoors that much. She'd tolerated it for his sake (just like he'd tolerated it when she played opera music in the house), but the only times Christine became excited in the wilderness was when they'd glimpsed baby wild animals. One time, he'd even had to stop her from chasing after a baby raccoon. Otherwise, she wanted to stay in the lodge, sit by the fireplace, and drink hot chocolate.

When Melanie went to see her parents in Ohio for Thanksgiving, he was given a little time to clear his head about the whole thing. She invited him to go with her, but he declined the invitation, not ready to meet anyone's parents yet. Instead Raoul spent the holiday with Aunt Ellen, where he had the three necessary F's: family, food, and football. By the end of the vacation, he was glad that he hadn't broken up with her.

Melanie stayed in town for Christmas. Her grandmother's store was busy during that time of year, and she wanted to help with the long lines of neurotic customers. She spent a quiet Christmas Eve with him and Christmas Day with her grandma. He gave her a pair of dangling emerald earrings (her birthstone) and a stuffed koala (her favorite animal). Girls always liked stuffed animals. Melanie bought him outdoor equipment and told him now he had to go hiking with her. It was nice.

It was around New Year's when things got a little tense. Revelations were always inevitable, he supposed.

They were preparing to go to the costume party together on New Year's Eve. At first, Melanie was planning to be a Gypsy. After gathering together his pirate costume, though, she decided to go as a blue and gold parrot, complete with a sequined mask that had a bright orange beak and yellow eyelashes. When she donned it that evening, right before the party, he unintentionally frowned.

"What's wrong?" she asked, obviously a little hurt. "You don't like it?"

"No. It's great!"

"Come on," she pled. "Tell me what's wrong. I'm going to feel weird going out in it now." She looked down at herself, probably trying to find the problem.

Raoul sighed. "I don't like masks. It's me—not you. You look great."

"Why don't you like masks?"

"I don't know. It's hard enough trying to figure people out when you can see their faces. They're…I don't know. It's hard to explain. Ignore me."

"The mask is only for fun," she said. "We're not going to rob a bank."

"Wouldn't be the strangest thing I've done this year…." he mumbled.

"What?"

"Nothing. Sorry. I'm being dumb. Let's go. Maybe I should have worn a mask, too, so your friends don't stare at me."

Melanie slipped off her mask and frowned. "Are you ever going to tell me anything?" she asked. "My friends stare at you because they don't know anything about you outside of what's on the news. Some of them think you're sweet. Some think you're...hot." She blushed. "A few think you're a snobby millionaire because you never say much to them. And one guy heard that you…killed someone."

"It was in self-defense," he blurted out. "Of someone else. I mean, I was defending an innocent person from a hit man. I had no choice."

Melanie stared at him, momentarily startled, before shaking her head. "Oh…. Well, I'd ask you more about it, but I don't even know where to begin."

"What?"

"I don't really know much about you. I'm not trying to be nosey. But you're this…semi-celebrity that suddenly asked me out. And even though I'd heard some pretty crazy stuff, I liked you. I've really liked getting to know you. But I still don't understand you."

"Yeah. Well. You won't tell me anything either. What happened to your fiancé?" It was a stupid trick to get the attention off himself, but it was all he had at the moment.

She rolled her eyes. "It's silly."

"I still want to know."

"Fine. I'll tell you. I didn't know you were that curious." Melanie sat down in an armchair, stood up as her feathery tail got in the way, straightened it out, and sat down again. "I was with the same guy for two years of high school. We were from the same neighborhood, and our parents knew each other. He played basketball; I was on the pom squad. Both of us were tired of school, and I guess marriage seemed more glamorous than college. Anyway, I got a job at the bank, and he told me he'd become assistant manager of this mechanic shop. It seemed fine. But, about three weeks before the wedding, I get home early one day…and…." Her eyes narrowed.

"Cheating on you?"

"No. He was sitting on the back porch of our apartment with one of his guy-friends--smoking pot. He claimed it was the first time he'd done it, but he didn't even have a job! He'd been fired a month before and hadn't told me. I got fed up, left him, and moved here to get a nursing degree. My grandmother's store has been kind of fun, so I haven't really used the degree yet. It's there if I need it, though."

"Yeah," Raoul agreed. "At least you figured it out early and got away from the guy."

"Yeah. I think he ended up marrying another girl on the pom squad." Melanie gave him a lopsided smile. "But see? I told you it was silly. And now it's your turn."

Raoul rubbed the bridge of his nose. "That's not fair. Mine's a lot more complicated." She folded her arms against her chest and sat back, waiting. "Fine. I'll answer one question tonight."

"One question? I don't even know what to ask." She bit down on her bottom lip and hesitated. "Um. Were you really—now I feel bad for asking--held hostage for like a month?"

"Yes."

"By your father's company?"

"I already answered one question."

She sighed. "Fine." They sat there in a tense silence until Melanie glanced at the clock. "I guess we'd better get going, huh?"

Raoul didn't answer, feeling that familiar bitter taste form in his mouth. The flavor was a mixture of disgust, hatred, shame and defeat. It had been dormant for some time but had never completely disappeared. And, for some reason, he felt like spitting it out that night. "You want to know what was so terrible about it?" he asked.

"What?"

"You want to know what was so terrible about being a hostage?"

She leaned in. "What?"

"I couldn't protect her. They wanted me, and they got her, too. But I was locked in this rat-infested room and couldn't do a damned thing for her. If they had decided to kill her, that would have been it. And at the end, she saved me. Did that make it into the news? She saved my life."

The curiosity in her gaze turned to sympathy. "I'm sorry," she said after a moment, folding her hands in her lap. "But I'm sure you did all you could in that type of situation. There wasn't much you could've done. I can't even imagine…. But you both survived. That's what matters."

"I survived," he agreed. "I've survived some of the most screwed up, twisted individuals in the world. That's my greatest accomplishment. Surviving psychopaths."

"But that's not true. On the news, they're saying that you've been doing a great job getting the money to the victims…that you've never tried to deny what's happened. You're also helping a lot of people." He didn't respond. She came to sit beside him on the sofa and took his hand, entwining their fingers together.

He looked at her, feeling a little mad at himself for revealing so much. "Ready to go?"

She shrugged. "I don't know. It's kind of late. Maybe we should skip it. Unless you want to go."

"Only if you do."

Melanie softly laughed. "So I guess we won't go."

"You want to do something here?" he asked. He wondered if he'd given her too much information…if it was all a bit more than she wanted to handle.

"Yeah!" she earnestly replied. "We'll have our own little party. With costumes and everything."

As he felt her lips on his neck, Raoul suddenly realized that he'd gained a strange asset from the last few years. He now had a history tinged with ambiguity and darkness, with one of the biggest and nastiest corporate scandals to rock the world. He was now considered a little mysterious.

It had taken him an initiation through hell to claim the coveted title of: a little mysterious.

What would someone have to go through to be extremely mysterious?

If Raoul had ever envied Erik over the past year, he certainly didn't now.