A/N: Thank you to sbollin93, Katabasis, Phantomgirl24, and peanutpup for the reviews on the last chapter, and thank you to everyone for sticking with this story!
"Erik? Erik, are you even listening to me?"
As the sound of Nadir's voice penetrated his consciousness, Erik raised his gaze to the other man, not trying to hide his annoyance at the interruption. "No, not really. Just do whatever you want."
"What I want? What I want is for you to take some kind of interest in this business. All you've done since Christine left is sit around and feel sorry for yourself, and it's getting old, quite frankly."
Even though Nadir's words were completely accurate, Erik still found himself getting defensive. "Well, we don't always get what we want, do we," he said, hoping that would shut the other man up for a moment, but of course Nadir couldn't take a hint.
"Look, I'm sorry that Christine decided not to stay, but you're going to have to move on eventually. It's not like you have nothing to look forward to. She said you can have a relationship with Gustave, right? She's even sent you a few pictures of him since she left. Maybe try to focus on that."
Growing even more irritated by Nadir's backhanded way of reminding Erik that the only contact he'd had with Christine since she left was a few photos and messages concerning Gustave, Erik snapped, "What do you mean she decided not to stay? Why would she? It's not like she lives here, Nadir."
For a brief moment, Erik found himself hoping that the other man had finally decided to stop talking, but that hope was quickly dashed after a few seconds. "Wait…Erik, you did ask her to stay, right? Christine knows how you feel about her?"
Shrugging, Erik looked away. "Of course she knows how I feel about her. The very first night that we talked after she arrived here, I told her I loved her, but she clearly didn't care to hear it. So no, I didn't ask her to stay. Why would she want to?"
Nadir closed his eyes for a long moment, and once again Erik thought maybe he would be spared any further commentary, but as usual when it came to his annoying friend, that hope proved futile.
"Erik, I told Rookheeya that I would pick Reza up from school today, so I've got to go," Nadir began as he rose from his chair on the other side of Erik's desk. "I'm just going to say one thing, and I want you to listen to me for once."
Realizing that it might be the only way to get rid of him, Erik gave a curt nod, which Nadir apparently took as an agreement.
"You need to tell Christine, in plain language, how you feel about her. And don't tell me she doesn't feel the same way. I think it's safe to say that there's a good possibility that her feelings could have changed since the first night you two saw each other again," he continued, cutting off Erik's argument before he could even make it. "I don't know for sure how she'll respond, but you owe it to yourself - and to Gustave - to at least find out. And, I think you might very well be surprised at her response. Call her."
As Nadir left the room, Erik let himself lean back in his chair, lost in thought at his words. As much as it pained him, he had to admit that Nadir might have a point. And as painful as it would be to hear Christine's rejection of him, it surely couldn't be worse than the state he was currently living in.
Suddenly galvanized into action, Erik leaned forward and reached for his keyboard. Nadir really had been right, surprisingly - it truly was time to find out once and for all if he had any kind of chance with her.
xxxxx
After Christine sang the final notes of the aria that served as the finale of the charity concert she was performing in, she let the applause wash over her, trying not to think about the fact that without Erik there to hear her, singing simply didn't hold the same appeal as it had over the summer. In fact, as she left the stage and started the walk to her dressing room, she had to admit that nothing seemed quite as enjoyable now as it had when she and Erik were together.
Maybe it was time that she swallowed her pride and called him, Christine reflected, although what she would say to him she didn't know. It was still hard to accept that after everything they had shared and the lengths Erik had gone to to disrupt her life, he had simply decided to let her leave. Conflicted, Christine decided the best thing she could do was put it all out of her mind until Monday - she and Mamma had booked a hotel room across the street from the venue for the night, and in the morning they planned to go to brunch and then take Gustave to the park to enjoy what was going to be a beautiful, warm early fall day.
However, all thoughts fled her mind when she reached her dressing room and turned from closing the door behind herself to the sight of an elaborate display of blood-red roses on the table in front of her. Stunned, she felt hope dawning over her before a deep voice spoke from behind her.
"Bravo, Christine."
Gasping, she whirled around, eyes flying to Erik where he stood in the corner of her dressing room, wearing one of the fitted suits that accentuated his tall, slim frame so well.
Catching herself before she ran headlong into his arms, Christine asked cautiously, "What are you doing here, Erik? Did you come to see Gustave?"
Hesitating a long moment before responding, Erik slowly shook his head. "No. Well, of course I do want to see him, but I came to see you, Christine."
Feeling her heartbeat quicken, she answered, "You did? Why?"
After taking a deep breath and somehow managing to straighten his posture even further, Erik responded, "Because I need to tell you something. I love you, Christine. I love you so much. And there's nothing I want more than to have you in my life permanently, although I know I've done nothing to deserve that."
Shocked, Christine saw Erik's shoulders slump slightly before he continued, "I want you to come back to Colorado with me. I want the four of us to be a family. And if you don't want that, I understand - I just need you to know how I feel."
As the realization dawned on her that Erik thought she was going to reject him, Christine felt time slow down as she contemplated the choice in front of her. She could try to protect her heart from further damage - or she could let go of the hurt and pain of the past, regardless of who was at fault, and try to grasp a future with the one person who had always seemed like the other half of herself. And as she watched Erik standing in front of her, love and pleading showing in his golden eyes, Christine gave in to the inevitability that there really was no choice to be had at all.
Suddenly bursting into motion, she closed the brief distance between them, reaching her arms around his slender waist and turning her face up to Erik's, meeting him in an explosive kiss that seemed to go on and on, until he abruptly pulled back to ask, "So…is this a yes?"
Laughing, Christine pulled him back down to her, giving him a playful kiss before answering, "It's a yes. I love you, too, Erik."
"Oh, Christine," he answered in a shaky voice, "you have no idea how long I've waited to hear you say that."
Touched, she hugged him tighter as he continued, "And I know we've got a lot to work out - your career, Gustave's schooling. I promise that we'll talk about it all."
"Oh, I'm not really worried about all that," she responded. "As long as we're together, we'll find a way," she reassured him, before leaning up for another kiss - one that was interrupted almost as soon as it began by a knock on her dressing room door.
Knowing it was most likely Mamma and Gustave coming to walk back to the hotel with her, Christine called out for them to enter, turning to face the door while sliding an arm around Erik's waist, not ready to let go of him just yet.
Mamma entered first, and Christine noticed her look of initial surprise change to a slight smile before Gustave stole her attention with his happy exclamation when he saw Erik in the room with her.
"Erik," he practically yelled, running the short distance to him. "Did you come to see me?" he asked as Erik reached down and automatically picked him up, causing a lump to rise in Christine's throat at the evidence of how close they'd grown already.
Leaving Erik to answer Gustave, Christine crossed the room to Mamma, who reached out and hugged her without a word. Taking a moment to reflect on just how grateful she was for this woman who had done so much for her and Gustave, Christine vaguely heard her son inviting Erik to join them in the park tomorrow.
Smiling, she met Erik's gaze, wondering if he was also thinking about another time that Gustave had innocently asked Erik to join them on an outing - and also reflecting on how far they'd come since then.
Seeming much more confident than he had that day, Erik looked at her before nodding. "I'd love to, Gustave."
Still unable to stop smiling, Christine walked over to them. "We should probably get to the hotel, since it's way past your bedtime, Gustave. Do you want to walk with us, Erik? We can make plans to meet in the morning."
After Erik agreed, Christine quickly collected the rest of her belongings while Gustave started giving Erik a list of the things they could do the next day. Once she was ready, they headed out, Mamma and Gustave leading the way while she and Erik followed behind. Reaching over to take his hand, she stole a glance up at him, noticing the caring way his gaze was resting on their son.
Obviously feeling her eyes on him, Erik turned his attention to her, his own turning worried when he saw the tears glistening there. "Is everything alright, Christine?" he asked tentatively.
Squeezing his hand in reassurance, she gave him a wavering smile. "Oh, yes, everything's more than alright. I'm just so happy you're here."
And as they crossed the street, Christine didn't miss the answering gleam in his own eyes at her words.
A/N: I know it's been slow going, but I am determined to finish this story. And the good news is, there's only two chapters left (the first of which I have written a good portion of already). Again, thanks to everyone for reading, and please feel free to leave a comment!