The Man Clad in Black: Book Two

Gently, Now - Chapter 32

The two of you sat against the wall— more so for Erik than for you— but he insisted upon holding you nonetheless.

"Thank you for bringing this to me, love," he muttered, melting into your hand as you put his mask on for him. It pained you to see how much of his once burning passion had just disappeared.

"It's my pleasure," you said. After a moment, you turned back around, and he let out a sigh as his arms wrapped around your waist. His grip was horribly weak. As you rested between his legs— something he had insisted upon, despite the fact he was quite weary— he pulled you to his chest, in which his breathing almost perfectly matched yours.

"What have I missed at the Opera?" he asked.

"They have a new Prima Donna," you said, though you didn't exactly care much. "Apparently, my lung got pierced, so... Well, that's enough said."

Erik let out a sigh.

"You were doing so wonderfully, though," he muttered. "Better than anyone else in that damned opera house."

"At least it isn't La Carlotta," you said with a small smile. You glanced back a little. "Do you remember her?"

He let out a bit of a groan.

"Wish I didn't," he said. "The woman was demented."

He paused, as if he knew you were mentally contradicting that statement, and you let out a soft chuckle.

"At least I got better," he clarified. The both of you were silent for a few moments, debating as to whether or not you should bring up the dire circumstances of your situation, but Erik was quick to go on about something else.

"How is that one foppish friend of yours?" he asked. "The one who let us stay with him for a while?"

"Matthew?" you asked, giving a soft chuckle. "He's doing okay, I suppose. I haven't seen much of anyone, really— I've mostly been in bed."

Erik sighed.

"I hope the asshole who shot you is in hell right now," he muttered. "You have no idea how horrible I feel for not helping you."

"It's not your fault, Erik," you said. "I'd rather it be me than you."

"I wouldn't."

For a few moments, the both of you sat in silence again. Your minds were racing elsewhere. Erik wanted so badly to be with you from now on, and his mind had wandered to the things he would do with you if he hadn't been in prison— both for fun and for... Well, a different kind of fun.

Your thoughts were different.

"I'm going to get you out of here," you whispered.

He let out the slightest bit of a groan, and you felt him shift slightly underneath you— and you felt him rub your arm before stopping after just a few moments.

He was tired.

"Don't do that," he muttered, resting his face into the crook of your neck. He let his hand fall gently on top of yours, and he let out a sigh of relief when he felt his ring still on your finger. "Enjoy your time with me, [Y/N]. They're not going to let me out."

"But you're you," you said, your eyebrows furrowing. You went to glance back to him, but he mustered up the strength to hold you too close to do so. You felt your eyes burn. "You can't... You don't just give up."

"I'm tired," he said, pressing a soft kiss against your neck. He was too tired to move and give you a kiss on your cheek— and that alone made your heart nearly explode with how much it ached. "I've had my happiness."

"You can still have more, Erik," you said. His hand, still on top of yours, ran gently up your side— and after a moment, you realized he was mimicking the movements you had taught him for I'll Muto so long ago. Your voice broke. "What about us?"

"What about us?" he asked, practically falling asleep (and, little to your knowledge, the first time since his arrest) before pressing another kiss against your neck. "I love you... That won't change no matter what."

"I love you, too, but I don't want to live the rest of my life without you..." you said. You felt a tear roll down your cheek so quickly you didn't know whether or not you were actually crying. "You don't understand, Erik..."

You felt a tear drip onto your shoulder.

"I know what it's like to be lonely," he said, his strength returning to hold you more tightly for a brief moment. "I want to be able to do something, but I..."

He went silent.

"I can't."

"Matthew and I will figure something out," you said quickly. Erik tensed up, but you continued on anyway. "Detective Francois is on our side— he was the one who let me meet with you, and he wants to help me recover and whatnot— and then even Antoine might too, and we have Madame Giry, and... and..."

Something told you your case was pointless.

Again, your eyes began to water profusely, and you felt the sudden urge to kiss Erik— and, it seemed as if he felt the exact same way.

It hardly took a moment for his to capture your lips in his.

Though it wasn't the most ideal position to kiss, you noticed that the passion Erik once had finally seemed to emerge— but not to the point that he would be so ready to figure out a plan to get him killed faster...

So, the both of you just kissed as if you hadn't at all been separated, silently hoping that the other would understand.

That's how things were until Antoine returned, looking quite distressed.

"My apologies you were unable to meet for longer, [Y/N]," he said, his chest rising and falling with each breath that he took. His eyebrows furrowed slightly. He seemed too worried to actually care that you were so passionately kissing Erik just moments ago, and he was quick to glance back to him over and over again. "I'll arrange for the two of you to meet again— soon, I pray— but—"

You didn't want to move from the cell— you wanted to spend the night with Erik— but when Meg and Matthew both scurried behind Antoine, you soon realized that they were looking just as urgent.

"[Y/N], there's people rioting outside," Meg said, her voice quivering. "It isn't safe here."

You turned around slightly and held onto Erik.

"Then I can't leave him," you said, your eyebrows furrowing. "If they're rioting, they're going to come in and—"

"You can't stay, [Y/N]," Erik said, his arms loosening around you. "I'll be alright, I promise— they'll be locked out of here."

"But I can stay the night with yo—"

"There'll be different people patrolling in the morning," Antoine interrupted. You felt your eyes well with tears again, although Antoine was clearly not ready to negotiate. "I'll make another arrangement soon, I swear— but I can't..."

"My apologies, [Y/N]," Erik said, having enough strength to kiss your cheek before mustering up even more to escort you. "Come on now."

"No, no— I'm not—"

Antoine was quick to come in and grab you.

"I'm so sorry," he said. "I promise I'll arrange a time for you to meet as soon as possible— but if you get caught in here, they'll want your head just as badly. As his."

A/N: I listened to "Past the Point of No Return" when I wrote this, and it made me so sad... Poor Erik lost all motivation :(

Also, I just wanted to thank silencetheclown for that lovely paragraph that inspired me to finish this chapter today!

Love you all, and see you soon 💖