Fragile

~A Monster in Paris (c) Europa~

Francoeur always had to be especially careful when they kissed.

Lucille, ever confident and strong in nature, was only human. Fragile. A perfect example of man's vulnerability, the singer was to be treated like she was made of glass. Although, he would usually forget that when their lips met.

With his lips on her own, two of his four hands on her waist, and the other pair cupping her cheeks, the very concept of fragility would go out the window. So vivacious and lively, the very thought of Lucille being such a thing as 'delicate' was nigh impossible. But when the realization did return, along with his senses, Francoeur would draw back, embarrassed. The cabaret singer would swiftly chastise him, reminding him once again that there was nothing to be frightened of. She wasn't made of glass, she wasn't going to shatter into a thousand pieces if he held her a bit too tightly, and she wasn't going anywhere anytime soon.

Francoeur would admit there was indeed a truth to those words, but the thought lingered nevertheless, that there love could never be. Of all the stories Lucille had told him of, or read to him in some cases, their endings were never happy. Notre-Dame de Paris, Le Fantôme de l'Opéra, La Belle et la Bête, were all perfect examples, because in the end, irrevocably, the monster never 'got the girl'. A dashing knight, or handsome prince would sweep the beautiful princess off her feet, and in the end, they'd live together forever. A true, 'happily ever after'. And Francoeur did not see himself as the knight. No, he was the monster, destined to lose the woman he loved.

Lucille called his assumption nonsense—blasphemy, even. She would not allow a few simple storybooks get in the way of their relationship, she would always tell him, when his tender touches and kisses ended as a result of indecision.

Taking his face in her small, ever so fragile hands, Lucille would firmly state to her love, that while all of those tales depicted one ending, seeming infallible and impossible to avoid, they were the one exception.

Because a kiss was a kiss—whether they be human or a monster.