Title: Bedroom Space for More (Variation 07)
Author: Lucifer Rosemaunt
Summary: Short ficlet variations on a theme: the bedroom/bed. Extended family.
Fandom: Phantom of the Opera
Pairing(s): Erik/Raoul
Warning(s): domestic!AU, modern!AU, established relationship, kid!fic
Word Count: 954
Rating: K
o.o.o.o
The bed shifted and Erik was sure something touched his leg.
After a moment, he amended that thought to not only had something touched his leg, but something was currently crawling up the bed. Stifling a sigh, he wondered if Raoul had actually gone through with his threat of adopting a puppy. Erik had, on no uncertain terms, told him that if they were going to get a dog, they would both go to the shelter and find one with a proper temperament. The younger man would certainly choose the most energetic dog possible given the opportunity. If he had gone without him, Erik would… Well, he probably would not be able to do anything. He could already picture Raoul holding up a squirming golden retriever. His blue eyes and the dog's brown eyes would be pleading, and he simply would not be able to say no, not that he would ever tell Raoul that or acquiesce without first making him work for it.
Then, the dog giggled.
Erik frowned. Dogs did not giggle. It was probably not a dog then. He cracked open one eye and craned his neck slightly, still trying to pretend to be asleep as he watched a small mound hidden beneath the blanket move its way up the bed, doing a rather poor job of stifling its giggles.
He spared his mask on the nightstand a glance but did not have the time to grab it since an unruly mess of blonde curls appeared at the top of the sheets. Erik dropped his head and closed his eyes. He could not even turn to hide his deformity without alerting his goddaughter that he was awake. Raoul always told him he was the only one in the family with a problem with his face at this point, especially with his niece, saying that she had seen him without his mask since she was just a baby. Still, he worried.
A tiny finger poked his cheek, an action that was quickly followed by another giggle. The little girl climbed to sit on his stomach and Erik tried not to react when she kneed his stomach. Instead of getting poked again, he felt a peck of lips on his deformed cheek.
He could not help but open his eyes in surprise. Raoul's five-year-old niece beamed down at him and pat him on the cheek.
"All princesses have magical kisses," she stated sagely.
Erik found himself nodding, unable to disagree with her, and he took a moment to be amazed at how she could stand to look at his face and not cringe away. Contrary to her statement, she was clad not in her princess pajama set but in the one of dogs dressed up as doctors, her favorite for some reason.
"Thank you for waking me, princess," he said, and there was a time when his conversation with this precious little girl was stunted, when calling her princess and talking about magic had not only been awkward but an act he had thought to be idiotic. He had been so wrong. Her uncle Raoul was still the one she went to to play dress up and have tea, but she came to Erik to play horsey or knights and dragons.
"Uncle wanted to," she explained as she started absentmindedly tapping out a beat on Erik's chest. He had been trying to convince both Philippe and Raoul that it was a sign she was innately musical and immediately needed to be bought an instrument. They were still hesitant, but he knew they were going to give in eventually even if he had to go out and buy her that instrument himself. "But he's watching the baby, and I said I could do it better."
Erik grinned as he sat up, supporting her back so she would not fall. "You certainly can." He pretended to bow as best he could in his current position and spoke in a fake accent, "Then, shall we break fast, milady?"
She giggled again and wrapped her arms around his neck, fully expecting to be carried even though he knew Philippe was trying to get her out of the habit. The elder Chagny had said it was one habit out of many she was abusing. It had something to do with regressive behaviours when a new baby was suddenly part of the family. Erik considered it was his prerogative as her godfather to spoil her however he wanted to, and if that meant she would never walk to another place again while he was around, then so be it.
He glanced up and saw Raoul standing just outside their bedroom with his nephew cradled in his arms, and it was with startling clarity that Erik could picture him holding their child. He quickly had to remind himself that it would never happen; he would never see a child with Raoul's eyes and hair and laugh and maybe Erik's talent; he honestly did not care if their child inherited nothing from him, just as long as it was theirs.
His expression must have changed because Raoul shook his head, giving him a sad and knowing smile, as though his own mind had followed the same path to some imaginary child. The younger man pressed his forefingers to his lips before sending him that kiss and mouthed 'I love you.' He nodded towards his niece before heading back to the kitchen.
Erik watched him go and held his goddaughter tighter. She seemed content to rest against him as he maneuvered his way to his feet, struggling a bit as the blanket became tangled between them.
Yes, he thought to himself, he would spoil this little girl as much as he could.
o.o.o.o
End ficlet
A/N: Okay, so this was going to be a whole month bonanza, but that's not going to work out. This is the last of the Bedroom variations. I'm adjusting this challenge a bit for the sake of my sanity. There are currently 4 total Variation themes (and if you guessed, 7 to a theme. It's a week challenge thing). I'm splitting them up, 1 theme per month so that I can actually do other work needed for me to be able to survive.
Fic Review: This got sad at the end for some reason. Also, you know Erik wishes he and Raoul could somehow create a perfect little kid of their own. They haven't talked about it of course, but both of them actually want to adopt (surrogate was a passing thought, but both of them agree there is a child out there alone in the world that they can make happy). Also, Philippe totally chose Erik to be the godfather of his daughter without any prompting from Raoul. That kid has seen Erik's deformity since she was a baby (it's normal for her even though she understands that this normal is actually different). She technically wants to be a doctor because of Erik.