The Man Clad in Black: Book Two

Detective - Chapter 2

You stirred awake late that night... well, either that, or quite early in the morning.

Nonetheless, the Paris sky seemed to be pitch black as of now, the only light burning from the candle in your room. The moonlight, while still glowing quite radiantly from outside, didn't at all make an affect on how bright it was in your room. You paused as you felt Erik's thumb gently caress the back of your hand... you paused for a moment. It appeared as if he was still awake (no duh).

By God... didn't he ever get any sleep?

"Erik?" you whispered, glancing back at him over your shoulder with a small smile playing on your lips. "You're still awake?"

"No, I just look like this when I'm sleeping," he whispered with a smile. You couldn't help but let out a slight chuckle at his clear sarcasm. You briefly moved away from Erik as turned over to face the man, and as soon as he saw your face, he pulled you against him yet again. "Did you sleep well?"

You nodded. Despite the fact that going to sleep so early probably threw off your entire schedule, being in Erik's arms was an indescribably wonderful feeling, and you weren't one to complain at all.

"Of course," you said with a smile, pressing a quick and gentle kiss to his lips. He held onto you for a moment. The two of you stared at the other, and after a moment, you held his face in your hands... you were curious as to why he was still compelled to wear the mask when it was just you there.

"You know, I really don't think have to wear that," you said, laying your hand gently upon the mask that hid his face. "In my opinion, you're one of - if not, the most gorgeous person I've ever set my eyes upon... Mask or not."

Erik hardly seemed to believe you. He rolled his eyes and snickered under his breath, almost as if this were the most ridiculous thing that he had ever heard... Lovingly, his hand made its way behind your hair as he began to stroke it again. He seemed amused.

"Don't lie to me," he muttered with a small smile. While he seemed to feign a happiness, you could easily read through the façade and see just about how hurt he seemed. He knew that false hope was worse than none at all... it seemed like he didn't believed that there was a tremendous amount of beauty that he embodied. In fact, that must have been why he got so upset with you for starting when you first met him - even if his mask was on at the moment.

Before he could say anything else, you gently pulled his mask from off of his face. It seemed to reveal everything that the rest of France had learned to fear... His skin was severely red, quite patchy, and covered in scars. It appeared almost as if it had been seared by an iron and doused with boiling water, and considering how horribly he had been treated throughout his life, most people would be revolted by the sight - in fact, even you still found yourself a little taken back... Not for long, though. You knew Erik for who he was - not for what he looked like.

To anyone else, they would have been dead if they as much as laid a hand on Erik's mask... Much less, take it off. It would be quite an unfortunate mistake on their behalf.

"See?" you muttered, holding his face in your hands as your lips parted into a smile. "Who you are speaks much more loudly than what you look like..."

Erik's eyebrows furrowed.

"You really think so?" he asked softly with a small, although hopeful smile playing on his lips... If it had come out of anybody else's mouth, he wouldn't have believed them.

You have him a slight nod.

"Of course I do," you said with a smile, resting your forehead against his. "I love you."

The two of you stared at one another for a moment, and unsurprisingly, your lips were hardly an inch away from his.

Now. Some people might have jumped  to the conclusion that the two of you were a lust-driven, hasty young couple, although both you and Erik knew otherwise. All you ever did was kiss - at most. Nothing more...

And - well, that exactly what you found yourselves doing.

Kissing.

While the way you two kissed wasn't exactly a 'modest' way of expressing how the two of you felt, it seemed to be better than bottling it up and doing nothing at all... and it was much better then letting things get out of hand.

You kissed quite a few times, driven by how madly in love you were with this man, although you found yourself pausing quite early on... there was a voice coming from outside.

You paused.

Erik's lips were still glued to yours as your eyes fluttered open, and they eventually landed on the door.

You pulled away for a brief moment... Erik stared at you, perhaps to ask if he had done something wrong, but as soon as he noticed where you were looking, he seemed quite concerned.

"Is there someone out there?" he asked softly as he glanced down to you.

"I'm not sure..." you muttered. You suddenly found yourself wide awake. Gently, you pushed yourself away from Erik as you got to your feet, adjusting your shirt in the slightest as you began to head to the door. "I'll go check really quick."

Erik seemed immediately opposed to the idea.

"No," he said sternly, pulling the covers off of him as he got up to his feet. You continued on your path and stopped only when his arms wrapped frantically around your waist, and he was quick to pull you close to him... while you would normally be comforted by such an embrace, you could tell that he was probably doing it only as a diversion. He picked up on your knowledge quickly. He turned you around to face him as he stared you directly in the eye, a horrible seriousness taking over his expression. "It could be dangerous, [Y/N]... Only God knows what someone might want so late at night."

"Don't worry, Erik," you whispered. "It could just be some ballerinas wandering around... and besides. With the amount of danger that you're in, I don't want to risk you getting caught."

"But what if it's dangerous?" he asked, his eyebrows furrowing with worry. "How will I know to come after you?"

"Simple. I'll scream if I need anything," you said, your lips parting into a slight smile. "Keep an ear out."

With that and a quick pat on the shoulder, you left.

It was quite dark outside, but it was light enough for you to briefly make out the silhouette of a few men... their conversation seemed to cease almost immediately once you came out from your room.

"Hello?" you called out. "I know you're out there... what are you all doing up so late?"

"My apologies if I woke you," a voice said gently. One of the men began to make his way towards you, and as you squinted your eyes, you caught sight of quite a tall and slender man... from what you could see, he didn't appear to be too old, but he also couldn't be too young, either...

"No, it's quite alright," you said, letting out a soft sigh. "I'm just curious as to what you're doing up so late."

"Well, if you couldn't tell, I'm not a regular," he said with a soft snicker... "But I'm here to investigate a few cases..."

Ah.

You began to zone out a little, more concerned with Erik's safety than what this man had to say, and all of your fears were confirmed when you heard his name...

Francois Rousseau.

A/N: Forgive me for such a late update!! Haha, anyway... I hope you enjoy! And thanks to everyone who's commented and voted... It means EVERYTHING to me, I literally can't even! 💖