Sitting at the dinning table, Fleurette laughed at her sister. Eleanor sat telling her a rather embarrassing tale of the moment when someone Felix worked with came over and Claudia mistook him for a door salesman and slammed the door in his face. It apparently took minutes to persuade the maid otherwise. "Since when did carrying a briefcase imply that you're a door salesman?" Eleanor laughed and shook her head.
"She often saw things we didn't pay attention to." Fleurette replied while narrowing her eyes thoughtfully. "Though most times than not, she often made up facts and information." This got a firm nod from her sister. "Maybe she thought he was trying to make an offer on the house?"
"To tell you the truth, he did partially evaluate it." Eleanor mumbled while lifting her cup to her mouth slowly. She mumbled thoughtfully over this sentence while drinking her tea slowly in case it was still boiling hot.
Fleurette frowned, "We don't need his evaluation."
"That's what I pretty much said. Felix didn't seem to agree with my bluntly spoken words."
"This is our house, our father bought it for our mother, he left it for you..." Fleurette trailed off slightly irritated. "You're not selling up."
Eleanor looked to her sister and fidgeted slightly under her serious expression and hard eyes. "When did you become so...stern?"
Fleurette tilted her head to the side, a little confused by her sister's words. "Between arriving in America and struggling to find my first job. Being innocently sweet wouldn't have got me anywhere." Fleurette said while drinking some of her tea. She frowned over the memory of her first job; it didn't exactly go to plan or end well. Shaking her head, she smiled up at Eleanor who was gauging her.
"You haven't told me much of where you're living." Eleanor said while leaning back before standing up. Fleurette looked up at her and followed suit, putting their tea things on a small tray they moved to the sitting room. Fleurette took the things off of the tray and put them on the small table between them. Eleanor sat down in the chair while Fleurette lounged back on the settee opposite to her.
Eleanor's words were the truth; since arriving the two were swept up with grieving, the funeral, and sending thank you letters to all who had attended. It was only now, a few days after that they both found themselves at a loss. It was also at this time that Eleanor realised that Fleurette hadn't really shared much about her life overseas.
"What's to say? It's busy, noisy, the people are interesting characters..." Fleurette rolled her hand in Eleanor's direction.
"Is it safe?"
Fleurette looked to Eleanor sharply. "Yes." She saw the concern which was suddenly etched on her sister's face. "It is, I don't think there's anywhere safer to live. Other than a safe, or a bank." She chuckled.
Eleanor rolled her eyes and shook her head. "How's Meg?"
"She's taken to life in America very quickly. More so than me. She seems like a natural at fitting in where ever she is."
"Madame Giry?"
"The same as always."
"Erik?"
"...The same as always." Fleurette said thoughtfully with a frown. Eleanor raised a curious eyebrow. What could she possibly say about him? It wasn't like Eleanor really knew how he behaved anyway, so if there was any drastic change Eleanor wouldn't exactly know. They'd met and interacted briefly and that was it. It was strained and a little awkward.
"The same as always. What does that even mean?" Eleanor frowned and leaned back in the chair. "Still hiding below ground level?"
"He doesn't hide." Fleurette rolled her eyes, trust her sister to choose that as the first thing to pick on.
"Living then."
"Yes."
"You live down below ground too?"
"I do."
Eleanor shook her head. "Well...what an interesting set up you two seem to have." Drumming her fingers on the arm of the chair, Eleanor looked up at the ceiling. She would be lying if she said she was sitting here trying to imagine it, she had to admit her mental image just seemed rather desolate, if not a little cold and sad. It certainly did not appeal to her, that was for sure.
"We don't spend all day down below ground, thank you." Fleurette said slightly offended.
"You go out?" Eleanor asked curiously.
"Yes." Fleurette frowned, they went out...to an extent. There was silence in the room then. A contemplating silence for Eleanor and a slightly annoyed silence for Fleurette. She didn't like having questions shot at her. She suddenly realised how it must feel when she was being curious and shooting questions. She didn't like being on the receiving end.
Eleanor let out a heavy sigh and hung her head. "Does he look after you?"
"Yes, and I him." Fleurette said honestly while they looked at each other. They seemed to come to an understanding then. Eleanor had got out what she wanted and received the answers she hoped to hear. And Fleurette had successfully put her sister's mind to rest. "I'm only here for another day, Eleanor, what do you suggest we do?" Fleurette smiled and fidgeted to sit up on the settee. She thought she ought to bring the topic to a cheerful one which didn't revolve around getting information. The thought of leaving so soon caused her to feel sad again, either way she was destined to feel sad, leaving Erik behind or her sister.
"Well," Eleanor smiled and sat up straight too. "I do hear that the market is down, and that there may be a sale on somewhere..."
"You propose shopping?" Fleurette smirked.
Eleanor inclined her head. "I do." She smiled and jumped up to stand along with her sister as they both moved off to find their coats.
—
It was only because it was silent that Erik could hear the quiet footsteps behind him. He kept his head down concentrating on the paper which was in front of him, he did however stop writing as the footsteps came to a stop. Clearly the owner had reached the end of the stairs and was just standing in the doorway.
Giving a sigh he lowered the pen and shut his eyes. "What is it you want?" He wasn't sure who it was, but he thought his words were pretty universal, they could be aimed at anyone.
"That's the welcome home I get?" Erik promptly shot up from the chair and looked behind him. "Seriously?" Fleurette smiled, Erik walked slowly forwards. "I'm gone for a small amount of time, and that's the welcome home I get." She pouted with mock hurt yet ended up smiling up at him.
He couldn't believe it, she was here, he believed she was. His thoughts and feelings were fully cemented when he reached up and put a hand against her cheek. Fleurette smiled and leaned against his hand. He looked her over, she looked well. Tired, but well. She seemed to come home with more bags than she left with. This caused him to sigh and shake his head. Clearly someone had gone on a shopping trip while back in Paris.
Fleurette put a hand to her mouth and yawned quietly. She was tired. She had rushed back to the theatre as fast as she possibly could. Saying goodbye to Eleanor was hard, she never saw Felix to say farewell because he was off working. But saying bye to her sister was as hard as it was the first time. The trip back over was rather dramatic. There were hardly any seats and because of this she ended up having to sit on a seat and get squashed against a wall. It seemed the cabins had all been taken up, so her journey back wasn't very pleasant. She was glad to be back though. She was glad to finally be surrounded by familiar settings.
Upon arriving earlier she had found it easy to walk silently through the corridors and down the stairs. No one seemed to be about, yet the front door was unlocked. This caused her to sigh and shake her head. Anyone could just walk in and no one would be none the wiser. Fleurette was glad actually that no one was about, as mean as that sounded. But there was really only one person she wished to see first. And now that person stood in front of her looking truly shocked.
"I would have sent a telegram," she said at length. "To let you know I was coming back. But I wanted to surprise you, and by looks of that I have succeeded!" She laughed and finally put down the two bags which she was holding in her hands. No sooner did she, did she find herself tightly embraced. She laughed and managed to put her arms around him. "Too tight, Erik!" Fleurette laughed, "I can't breathe! But I have missed you terribly too!" She laughed again and was suddenly let go only to be promptly kissed. Letting out a content sigh, she put her hands on his chest as his held onto her cheeks lightly yet firmly.
"You are here." Erik said finally speaking, Fleurette raised an eyebrow at his words. "You have been missed, and I have found myself thinking of when you return." He paused to let go of her cheeks, Fleurette kept her hands placed against his chest though. "I just needed to make sure you were really here."
"By giving me a rib crushing embrace?" Fleurette laughed lightly.
"I apologise."
"I wouldn't if I were you, it was quite nice." Fleurette nodded and sighed lightly. Stepping back she looked him over. She could finally assess his appearance. He looked the same as always, not that she was expecting a drastic change. He looked perhaps a little tired, Fleurette rolled her eyes, he did have a habit of sleeping few and far between. His white shirt sleeves were rolled up and the top buttons were undone. Putting his hands in his dark trouser pockets, he looked to her simply. "What? I'm just saying," she smirked and picked up her bags and walked slowly past him, she looked over her shoulder as he moved after her. Looking forwards again, she smiled, "You managed to get it down here!" She exclaimed while dropping her bags again and dashing forwards.
How he managed to get the piano down here was a mystery to her. But here it was, out of its music room setting and surrounded by candles and oil lamps. There was already scattered sheet music on its stand. Grinning, she looked over her shoulder at him. "Been busy with work, hm? Have you written anything new or have you been improvising again?" She laughed and rolled her eyes as he stepped forwards and stopped beside her.
"Perhaps a bit of both," Erik confessed and watched as she turned away and ran back over to her discarded bags. He turned and watched her, leaning against the desk he couldn't help but smile. He honestly forgot how energetic Fleurette could be. Always on the move, never stopping or slowing down.
She shuffled over and stood in front of him, "Excuse me, please," she smiled and put her bag down on the desk. Opening it up, she rummaged around in it for a bit before pulling something out which was wrapped it in brown paper. "Now, remember that music shop you visited? I came along too, remember? It's still there, the old man who works there remembered me and asked about his mysterious shopper." She laughed lightly and held her hands out.
Erik looked at her sceptically before taking the small parcel from her hands. He carefully tore at the paper and looked to the two books which were in his hands. He looked up at her, Fleurette just smiled and rocked on her heels. "You're always working on scraps of paper, you need books, Erik." Fleurette reasoned with a small shrug. "Though granted I think you'll fill them both up quickly. I am not returning back to Paris just to get you more notebooks!" She laughed and pushed her hair over her shoulder. "Though I'm sure there's similar books in town...just...I don't know, I remembered the moment and thought you'd appreciate them."
"Thank you." He said honestly, Fleurette just smiled again and nodded. She picked up her bag and removed it from the desk. Turning, she walked over to the other bag and dragged it over to the bed. She wasn't going to unpack now. She honestly could not be bothered. Putting the books on the desk, Erik walked over and sat down next to her on the bed. "How was the trip?"
Fleurette sat plaiting her hair up and looked to him thoughtfully. "Tiring. Both going and coming back. But Paris hasn't changed. You'd be astonished to see how it is, it's probably just like you remember." Fleurette paused and then frowned. Did Erik honestly know what Paris was truly like? She never found out if he had ventured through the whole city, or if he had strayed far away from the theatre. "Eleanor and Felix are the same as always. Though in saying that I hardly saw Felix, he's seemingly always at work; he's a very busy man."
"That doesn't seem to bode well with you." Erik smirked and crossed his arms.
"It is upsetting my sister that she isn't seeing her husband as much as she'd like. Yes, it doesn't bode well with me." Fleurette said quietly while putting her hands in her lap and looking down at the ground. Shaking her head slowly, she looked to him. "What's been happening here? How's the shows been going? Why are you wearing this again? Have people been coming down and visiting or have you been going up to socialise?" Fleurette questioned quickly while fidgeting to look at him and point to the mask which he had yet again taken to wearing. He had slowly but surely grown safe with not wearing it down here when in her company.
Erik rolled his eyes and shook his head slowly. The constant curious nature, how could he ever forget this? Laughing against his better judgement, he looked to her. "You've not missed much, honestly. The shows are going well, they've been really successful actually. Meg has been down a few times...for obvious reasons I've taken to wearing it again. And no, I've not really been going up. To watch a few of the shows yes, but that's about it." Erik said answering her questions with ease.
Fleurette nodded seemingly content with what he had said. "Meg's visited you?"
"Only to deliver your letter, and to see what I'm doing. I think she means to report back to you." Erik replied causing Fleurette to nod slowly, it'd make sense that her friend would want to give her the scoop on what he was doing.
Shuffling a little closer to him, Fleurette looked at him curiously. "May I?" She lifted her hands up, Erik merely inclined his head. He shut his eyes as he felt Fleurette's gentle touch against his face. She carefully pulled the mask away and placed it on the bedside table behind her. Erik opened his eyes slowly when he felt her hands cup his face. "It is good to be home, though it feels strange." Fleurette said while giving a firm nod. Leaning forward, she leaned her forehead against his and shut her eyes.
"May I ask, how long do you plan on keeping your return secret?" Erik asked curiously.
"I'll appear to everyone when I've caught up on sleep." Fleurette confessed with a laugh, a tired sounding laugh but one nonetheless.
—
(Edited: 16/Oct/2023)