“Sometimes I just want to know what it’s like to be you.”
FoB Meme
Darius peered at his former mistress in confusion. To be him? The fatherless son of a cook? A personal steward whose master was imprisoned? He would have laughed, but it wasn’t funny. Darius had known Rookheeya for half his life, but he would never have guessed that she wondered what it was like to be him.
Even now - perhaps especially now - as they awaited the day Nadir was released from prison. Darius now worked in Sogand’s kitchen, but his new mistress treated him with the same kindness that Nadir had extended to him. Under the pretense that he was visiting his aunt, uncle, and cousins who worked for Rookheeya’s brother, he was allowed to accompany Sogand and her husband, Ali, to Rookheeya’s home and occasionally, everyone turned a blind eye to their conversations, as they did now.
Rookheeya and Darius strolled through the garden while others were at dinner and Darius found himself wondering the same thing. What is it like to be you? She had endured so much loss, but endured nonetheless. She was still brilliant, bold, beautiful. He wondered sometimes if she, too, cried out in anger at night sometimes. If she, too, thought Nadir’s sacrifice had been in vain and that they would have all been happier if Erik had been marched to the gallows and their family left alone to carry on as it had for all those years before the magician cast his curse over them. She seemed so much more forgiving. Perhaps she was in a position to be. She had family to return to, instead of being snatched up like property before the government could confiscate Darius along with Nadir’s signet ring and livestock...
“What it’s like to be me? I wonder what it must be like to be you,” Darius told her. “I don’t think there’s a person on this planet I admire more except my mother and...”
The unspoken name was clear even without Darius’ saying it. Until Nadir was released from prison, his place was green.
REZASTINE 6. Things you said under the stars and in the grass
@toherembrace
Over their spring break, Christine and Reza headed for the seaside for their own small vacation. It was nice to get out of the city, to breathe in some cleaner air than the New York streets. Reza had driven and Christine fell asleep in the passenger seat with her hand resting across the console to rest on his leg. She was woken up with a kiss and they spent their afternoon on the beach, walking along the water.
After checking into the hotel and having dinner that night, Reza and Christine headed back to the beach with a blanket and sat in the tall grass on the fringes of the sand. They laid down on their blanket, Christine’s head resting on his stomach. For awhile, they were quiet. Reza played with her hair as she gazed up at the stars, letting the salty air fill her lungs. The ocean tide slowly and quietly beat against the shore, offering a rhythm for her breathing.
“I’m really glad you had this idea,” Christine murmured, closing her eyes as he twirled a chocolate lock around his fingers.
“My pleasure, Christine.”
“We need to do this more often,” Christine grinned, tilting her head to look over at him. Brilliant, beautiful jade eyes were soft and warm, gently gazing down at her. For a moment, she was breathless all over again. Whatever had happened to turn their relationship based in absolute tragedy into the blessing she had now…There wasn’t a hope in the world for her to express how much he meant to her. Him and his warm smile and tender heart and great laugh; there wasn’t a piece of her that didn’t love all of him and all he was.
“I could definitely be okay with that. The sand suits you,” he mused, brushing her hair back softly.
“What a unique compliment. Sand suiting me,” she teased, rolling over on her side to get a better look at him. He reached for her hand and she laced their fingers together. Adoration filled his eyes and she could feel her entire face warming up with a bright pink blush.
“You look at me like that and I swear I’m living in a fairytale,” she mused, running her thumb carefully along the back of his hand. He laughed a little but stayed silent, still brushing over her hair with his warm, soft hands.
“You look at me like that and I can believe everything is going to be okay. You look at me like that and I think that I’ve achieved everything any girl has dreamed of; I’m loved,” she murmured, turning his hand around so her fingertips could trace on the inside of his forearm.
“When I catch you looking at me like that, I want to kiss you and hug you and cry with you and take you to bed and spend the rest of my life catching you looking at me like that,” she sighed, smiling at him. Reza’s grin turned from sweet to knowing.
“I was hoping you’d say that,” he laughed, moving his arm to his side to reach into his bag. When he had shuffled around enough, there was a a small black box in his hand. All breath left her lungs. Reza shifted to sit up and got on his knees.
“Oh, Reza-”
“Let me speak, Christine,” he laughed. The soprano set herself up, tears forming in her eyes as she looked up at him. With a soft click, the little box opened and revealed a ring. A beautiful, gorgeous, glinting diamond ring.
“I love you. We’ve…” His smile faltered for a moment before lighting up again. “We’ve spent two years in the middle of…so much. Erik, a trial, and then some time just between us. And in the time between us, I have fallen deeply and irreversibly in love with you. And I want to spend the rest of my life with you, Christine Gabrielle Daae. You beat me to the punch and already said that you want to spend the rest of your life with me, so I’m assuming you’re going to say–”
“Yes, Reza. Yes, I’ll marry you,” she exclaimed, hugging him tightly to her. Reza embraced her back and kissed her cheek. The ring was soon on her finger and she was crying as she kissed him all over again.
“I’m glad we are on the same page about this,” he chuckled, brushing her hair back out of her face and wiping her tears away. He cupped her face softly and for a moment, she could see her future in his eyes. And it was so beautifully bright.
“Is that so?” Darius asked. “I- er - hadn’t noticed, mistress.”
Of course he’d noticed. Everyone in the household had noticed how often Rookheeya and Erik clashed with one another. Neither yielded and most often, Nadir was left to intervene. Which left Darius to listen to Nadir’s frustrations about the whole mess. He averted his gaze. He knew Rookheeya well enough to know that she’d know he was lying. He just hoped she knew him well enough that he was doing so to avoid inadvertently insulting her.
