Music of the Night: The Phantom of the Opera Returns (Guile & Melody)

[Guile]

Erik nodded in agreement, then let Catherine take his hands and place them in the correct position. He smiled when they started to dance. He fumbled a bit at first, but it didn't take him long to get used to the rhythm and motion and, once he did, he had this particular dance down pretty well. He took a few glanced at the twins who were looking disgusted that they had to be that close to each other and he chuckled. "You guys look like you're doing fine." He turned back to look at Catherine. "How am I doing, teacher?" He joked. "Be easy on me, it's my first time waltzing."

 

[Saiyan Princess]

"And so, our roles have been switched, my father." She grinned and watched the young ones as well. "Not so tight, Ali." She was examining his position on Lilly's back. Alistair loosened it and continued a while longer. "I must admit, I like this change, Father." She giggled as she heard, once again, the twins argue. "Ow, Alistair, that was my foot." Alistair removed his foot. "I'm sorry, your highness."

 

[Guile]

"I do believe they have." Erik chuckled at the children's difficulties. He kept dancing with Catherine, thinking back through his life and becoming suddenly aware that this was the first dance he had shared with his daughter. Or, anyone for that matter. "Do you know something, Catherine? I like it as well." He smiled warmly at his first born, then decided to joke with her. "It gets so tiring being the perfect teacher all the time." He sighed, pretending to be exasperated with all of his 'hard work' before laughing.

 

[Saiyan Princess]

"Yes, perfect orphaned children must be hard to come by." She teased. "You can't work with them if they have their parents, so you wait until you have the child alone." She looked at her mother, who was listening to them and holding the now tired twins. "I'm fine, Catherine. Don't you worry about me." She was speaking of her first born's orphan comment. Catherine looked away from her, feeling guilty. "That's not what I meant."

 

[Guile]

Erik cleared his throat nervously at the sudden silence in the room because of Catherine's comment. He stopped dancing and placed his hand on his daughter's cheek. He bent forward and whispered in her ear, "don't worry. She knows you didn't mean it." He placed a quick kiss on her temple then said aloud, "well, thank you, my child. I feel I have been quite educated in the matter of dancing - at least, the waltz." He laughed at the thought of how horrible he would be at dancing any other dance before walking over to where Christine held the twins. "I believe they should got back to bed, perhaps? They look exhausted. Allow me," he said before picking Lilly up in his arms first and placing her back in bed. Then, he came for Alistair and placed him in bed beside his sister before covering them up with the blankets.

 

[Saiyan Princess]

Alistair tried to argue as he was put in the bed. "I'm...not...sleepy." he mumbled as he fell asleep with his arm around Lilly. Catherine sat on the edge of the bed, her feet against the baseboard and her arms over her chest and hands on her shoulders. "Why did I say it?" Her voice was cracking up. Christine limped over to her and hugged her tightly. "Dearest, please don't cry. I forgive you." She also kissed Catherine.

 

[Guile]

Erik looked down at his youngest two children for a moment - smiling at the fact that he could now put his children to bed. That he could now be there to see them grow up - a luxury he had not been given before. Satisfied with this thought, he made his way to the edge of the bed where Catherine sat and Christine was comforting her. He allowed them a moment, still feeling a little new to the idea of being a family and dealing with average family issues.

 

[Saiyan Princess]

Catherine sighed, looked at her mother, then smiled. "Okay, Mother." She stood and skipped over to Erik. "Now, about those dresses." She joked with him. "You're going to regret making that little offer a while ago, my love." Christine giggled. "Catherine's always been using shopping for and making dresses a hobby of hers apart from singing, of course." She watched as Catherine made her escape. "If you win this race, you get to pick the best one of the ones I pick!" She laughed. Christine just stayed where she was, unable to move. "Catherine, please behave."

 

[Guile]

Erik laughed and addressed Christine. "Oh, well. I did offer." He turned to Catherine and teased her. "Is it too late to take it back?" Before she could answer he did himself. "It is, isn't it?" He pretended to be disappointed in himself and shook his head. "Well, then, I suppose it's time to go waste many hours of my life shopping for dresses." He laughed, then remembered that Christine couldn't move. "What shall we do with you, my darling?" He went over to where she sat and kissed her cheek. "I want to buy you a dress as well."

 

[Saiyan Princess]

Catherine glared at him. "Oh, no, you don't!" She splashed her way over to him and tackled him down. "I don't think so, sir. You are keeping your word or I shall never talk to you again!" She teased him, for she knew she couldn't stay away if she tried. She was becoming her mother all over again. "I mean it, Erik!" She used his name on purpose. Christine sighed in disappointment. "I am not sure. Maybe, I'll stay here like a good stay at home wife and mother and keep the house clean and the children fed while you go out, have fun, and find a woman who can walk and go behind my back." She teased, knowing that he would never go against her.

 

[Guile]

Erik was stunned by the sudden blow to his body. Before he knew it he was on the ground, with Catherine holding him down. He started laughing. "Oh will you now, young lady? Well," he pretended to be weighing his options, "I still have two other children who might appreciate the simple love of their father more than clothing." He teased her, knowing that she did care about him. "I mean, listen to you - calling your father by his first name." He shook his head in fake disbelief. "You disgrace me." He laughed and was able to get out from under her. As he stood up he said, "however, I shall never have another Catherine. So...I suppose I could buy you just this one dress." He turned to Christine with a sly grin on his face and teased back. "You know, now that you mention it" he hurriedly grabbed his jacket, threw it on, and grabbed Catherine's arm as if they were going to leave in a hurry, "that sounds like a splendid idea!"

 

[Saiyan Princess]

As Catherine is thrown off of Erik, she stays on the ground, disappointed. "Hey! That's no way to treat a lady, Monsiuer!" She got up and held onto his arm, as though she were super glued to it. "You know I love you!" She argued her case. "Papa, look at me!" She was starting to get upset, but hid her tears. "Now!" The twins stirred in their sleep, then remained still. "I-I didn't mean to disgrace you, Pere." She wiped her face, finally getting the sarcasm behind his voice. "Don't leave me again." Christine crossed her arms further and turned away from her husband to be. "You aren't phasing me and you aren't going to make me chase after you, fawn over you, and scream when you leave me like I did during my infancy." She smiled to herself. "If you leave me, I have a man to fall back on." She stifled a giggle. "Just make sure your new wife isn't Carlotta."

 

[Guile]

Erik kissed Catherine's forehead and whispered to her. "You know I love you, my child. You could never disgrace me." He smiled at her then turned to Christine who was sitting defiantly turned away from him. He scoffed, still teasing. "And who is this man?" He took a few steps toward her and stood tall, proudly, as though this 'news' didn't bother him. "I wish to know what scoundrel has been corrupting my wife into adultery." He gagged just at the thought of Carlotta, even though they were both joking around. "And you know I wouldn't be caught dead with that woman."

 

[Saiyan Princess]

Catherine smiled back. "Yes, sir." She held onto Erik still. "I know you love me, but sometimes I just cannot tell." She laughed again. "I love you more than I could express, Papa."


"Wife? Nay, I am merely the mother of your three children until further notice and you put some effort into a union between us." She grinned at the back wall and threw the bed curtains closed so that she was alone. "Until then, I am fair game for any man and am not bound to any one man, even if they have been like a father to me." She giggled and held the lace curtains shut. "As for Carlotta, I saw the way you looked at her."

 

[Guile]

"I love you too my darling." Erik whispered and smiled at Catherine warmly before whispering in her ear again. "I swear, your mother though...sometimes she just..." he didn't finish his sentence but put on a fake aggravated look and held back his laughter as he made wild hand motions as to just how much Christine 'aggravated' him. He addressed Christine, who now had shut the curtains on him. "Ha! You shouldn't confuse a death glare with yearning, my dear." He joked in relevance to Carlotta. "As for our union - we would be married by now if you wouldn't be sneaking around with other men." He said in reference to this 'man that she had to fall back on.' "How am I supposed to marry a women who isn't loyal to me? How will I know I can trust you when we are wed?" She still had the curtains tightly shut, so because she was turned away from him, he lifted them off the ground and snuck under them. Unaware he was there, Erik wrapped his arms around Christine suddenly from behind and kissed her neck.

 

[Saiyan Princess]

Catherine giggled as Erik made these weird hand motions. "I know." She pointed to the bed. "She's been very secretive since I can remember." Christine scoffed as she was asked that first statement. "Yes, I am so untrustworthy when it comes to marriage." She still had the curtains in her hands, feeling the bed lower as the Phantom sat behind her. "You shouldn't marry me. I'm too wild." She stifled herself as much as she could when Erik kissed her neck. "Go, find another woman to brainwash and sing to. You are like a male Siren. Your voice is irresistible to all. Why do you believe I am so successful, eh?" Catherine waited outside, seeing the curtains move as her father pulled her mother to him. She felt awkward. "The children are still in there with you, Mama. Papa, don't you dare!" She teased.

 

[Guile]

Erik laughed quietly, remembering the children were sleeping and not wanting to wake them. He whispered to Christine, "I don't want another woman - I want you." He heard Catherine and had to remind himself that they weren't alone. He, once again, cleared his throat nervously and his face went red. He let go of Christine instinctively and chuckled awkwardly. "Ah, yes, well..." but he didn't know where he was going with that statement.

 

[Saiyan Princess]

"You're right..." she laughed. "You've already invested too much time and effort into me and my career, puppet master." She chuckled to herself. "You had better go and come back home to me without another woman or I shall be very upset." She kissed him. "Go, my love. She's waited long enough, as has your precious little Angelou." She remembered what Carlotta had called her so long ago. "And... hurry back or I might have made my daring escape." She kissed him again, feeling the heat from him coming to her.

 

[Guile]

Erik chuckled and happily let her kiss him. "I will gladly come back without another woman. Just as long as I have a woman waiting for me when I come back." He added and winked at her before kissing her cheek. When she mentioned Carlotta again he made an exaggerated disgusted face and pretended to keep himself from vomiting. He crawled slowly off the bed, so as to not wake the children, with a smiled on his face. He held out his arm for Catherine to take. "Let's go, my child. You heard your mother - if we don't come back in a reasonable time she'll leave. Then the three of you will be stuck with me forever." He laughed as they made their way to the boat.

 

[Saiyan Princess]

"I can't exactly go anywhere with an injury, now can I?" Christine asked as he had his back turned and was heading out. "It would be quite painful to walk on with a huge cut in my foot." She chuckled at his vomiting motion. "She isn't that bad, Phantom. Honestly, now!" She laid back and laughed to herself. "Bring back food for your kids!" Catherine took his arm immediately. "You are going to regret that offer, Father. I promise you that much." She hummed Point of No Return.

 

[Guile]

Erik laughed as he helped Catherine into the boat after opening the gate. He whispered to her, "I suppose it's a good thing you're mother's injured, huh? She can't escape us." He made a quiet, almost evil, laugh before turning to Christine and giving her the most innocent smile. "Of course, my darling. Your wish is my command!" He got into the boat, his laughter becoming harder for him to hide. He waved to Christine once before starting to row. As they made their way through the gate he listened to Catherine's humming, which he enjoyed very much.

 

[Saiyan Princess]

"I guess so, Father." As she continued to hum, her voice got quieter, more smooth, but she wouldn't sing the lyrics, as though she may upset her father with one of Christine's songs. As things got quiet, so did she. "So, how long does this father daughter bonding time usually last?" She asked innocently.

 

[Guile]

Erik eyed Catherine suspiciously, wondering if something was wrong. "What do you mean, my dear? It lasts as long as we wish it to." He stopped rowing when they got to the other side and helped her out, holding out his arm for her to take. "Why do you ask?" His voice was soft, joking aside. "Is there something wrong?" He ran the back of his hand across her cheek gently, a warm smile on his face.

 

[Saiyan Princess]

Catherine blushed at his touch, yet again. "Father, I...about that...that kiss, when I was little...I didn't mean anything from it." She lied. At the time, that kiss meant everything, for it was before she had known the truth. She did not regret a second of it and knew why her mother loved him so much. "And, no reason. I just wanted to know when you thought we should return. Mother is patient, but not too patient."

 

[Guile]

Erik remembered all too well the kiss that they had shared when Catherine was much younger. It made him uneasy just thinking about it and it had made him uneasy ever since he had learned that he was Catherine's father. Although he loved her with all his heart, he couldn't get past how strange the memory of that kiss made him feel - he wished he had never let it happen. However, he would never tell her that for he knew it would hurt her. "My dear, it's alright. It's in the past - we are kin now." He placed a quick kiss on her cheek and began making his way up the stairs to the world above with her. He laughed slightly at the mention of Christine's patients. "Quite right, Catherine. I say we take a few hours, no more than three at the most. I want to give you time to find the perfect dress." He smiled at her sincerely.