Disclaimer: I do not own The Phantom of the Opera.

Hello! It's time for the 2nd Annual Phantom's Valentine One-Shot contest! Here's what ya need to know:

Entry Timeline: February 9th- February 28th

Winner's Announced: March 6th (Aiming for this, hopefully it will be before the 6th and not after!)

Awards: There will be 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winner along with category winners. 1st place gets a review, a favorite, and I'll write them either a chapter of When Words Fail or a one-shot to a theme of their choice and bragging rights, 2nd place gets a review and a favorite and bragging rights, 3rd place gets a review and bragging rights (and a favorite if I really love it!). ALL entries will get a review and be added to my one-shot challenge community. :D

How to enter: Leave a REVIEW on this story, upload your one-shot to this site in the book category of "The Phantom of the Opera", PM and tell me you uploaded it, and put "Entry for Phantom's Valentine One-Shot Contest" somewhere in either the story description or in the author note!

Rules: Story must be a ONE-SHOT. It can be in a collection of one-shots, and the one-shot may continue on into a full-fledged story, but judging will only be on the first chapter. Stories must have a Valentine's theme. One-shots can have any character pairing, any rating (within site rules), and can be any genre! No minimum or maximum word count- just have fun!

"Erik, I called the restaurant and….Erik?" Christine trailed off as she was met with silence when she rounded the corner from the backdoor into the kitchen. She looked around herself, listening for any sign of him. The familiar sound of the piano playing out a sweet tune or the scratching of a pencil against paper as he sketched his newest blueprint, but….there was nothing.

Achoo!

Christine whipped her head in the direction of their living room.

Found him.

She set her car keys on the counter, the keys loudly clink-ing as she did, before making her way into the living room.

"Erik- did you just…sneeze?"

"Oh…hey…didn't realize you were…were...a-a-achoo," a sniffle,"home," Erik's congested voice answered.

The sight on the couch was one she had rarely got to see when it came to her husband. With his arm slung over his forehead, Erik was laying on the couch, his legs at an awkward angle since he was in fact longer than the couch. His eyes were groggy and his mask lay discarded on the floor. However, that wasn't the only thing on the floor: piles among piles of tissues lay crumpled up across the floor, and sheet music with fresh written notes were also scattered through the mess on the floor.

Christine sighed.

He was sick and still he had been working!

"Oh…Erik, I knew it couldn't just be your allergies. Here now," she said as she hurried over to him, purse still on her shoulder. She offered one hand out for him to hold on to and put her other hand behind his back to help him sit up. "Now, come with me and I'll get you tucked into bed upstairs—"

Erik shook his head and leaned back against her hand. "No, no I'm fine, I just need to get dressed to go to dinner." He waved her off with his free hand, a tissue still in its grasp.

"No, you're sick. I'll call and cancel—"

"But it's— achoo— Valentine's! We have to! I'll be fine, I just need a little rest and to…." Erik groaned, shutting his eyes for a moment, "put on my shoes and I'll be ready to go, just let me up."

Christine pursed her lips and held him firm on the couch. "I don't think so. If you won't go upstairs you're going to stay on this couch," she told him as she lowered him back down. Sitting down on the arm of the couch, she pushed his damp hair away from his forehead. "Really Erik— I think you're running a fever!"

She could've swore she saw the faintest smirk on his lips.

"Is it because I'm so hot?" Erik's voice whispered, looking up at her from where he lay.

Christine chuckled as she shook her head before placing a kiss on his forehead. "Hmm…so hot, in fact that I'm going to go grab the thermometer out of the cabinet…and maybe call the pharmacy for some medicine. You know the flu has been going around—"

"Ugh…way to ruin the mood…" Erik groaned as he turned his head away from her so that he was staring at the back of the couch.

"There was no mood— you're sick!" Christine shot back. But she couldn't be angry with him, if anything she felt like laughing even more!

"I'm fine, I swear, it's just like I said yesterday, just my allergies…you know it got so warm and then cold again…it messed up my system…I just need…to…to get dressed…."

Christine patted him on the shoulder and stood up as he trailed off, his eyes drooping. She grabbed the blanket that was draped over the back of their recliner and placed it over him. Then, with a smile and a knowing shake of her head, she set off back to the kitchen to call the restaurant to cancel their Valentine reservations for that night and the pharmacy to order some flu medicine.

The room was dark when he finally cracked open his eyes, and seemed to be somewhat…hazy? He brought his hands up to rub his eyes as a he heard the clock on the wall begin its hourly chiming.

Dong….Dong…Dong…

Erik sighed. Three o'clock.

A.M.

With a slight groan he pushed himself up to a sitting position, taking in his surroundings. He was still on the couch encircled by an army of tissues and germs….he could just barely make out the shape of his mask on the coffee table just off to the left in front of him, and in the recliner…

His lips turned up into a smile.

In the recliner slept a beautiful, beautiful angel wrapped in a purple and green quilt.

His beautiful angel if his mind wasn't fibbing to him.

He glanced at the clock again.

Three o' three in the morning, February 15th—

Erik gasped (which in reality came out as more of a wheeze), he had missed Valentine's day!

Well, not exactly missed it. He did vaguely recall his pretty angel forcing nasty flavored medicine down his throat, not to mention all the water she'd made him drink…but there was also the memory of sweet caresses, and lullabies being sung in his ear by the prettiest voice…

Her voice.

Christine.

Oh, of course! That's her name…how do you forget your own wife's name…

He shivered as he stood to his feet, missing the warmth and comfort of his make-shift couch bed. Slowly he made his way across the room to where Christine slept soundly in the chair.

Well, he had assumed soundly anyway. However, she honestly looked like she'd had a worse night than he'd had. Her hair was tousled and thrown up in a messy bun on top of her head, and her eyebrows were furrowed with concentration as if whatever was going on behind her closed eyes was troubling her.

Erik frowned and reached out his hand. He stroked her hair, letting his fingers linger longer than he usually would allow them to.

"Christine…" Erik said softly, still petting her hair.

"Hmm…?" Christine shifted under his gaze and then burrowed deeper under her covers.

Erik smiled and said her name again, this time moving his hand to her cheek. "Christine…"

Christine squeezed her eyelids and then opened them the tiniest bit. "Erik?" her voice was nothing more than a croak, the early morning grogginess heavily affecting it. "Do you need me to get you something—"

"We missed Valentine's Day," Erik said flatly, his thumb brushing lightly on the tops of her cheeks.

"Oh…don't worry about that," Christine said as she shook her head, her eyes opening a bit wider. "We can have a redo when you're feeling better…" she punctuated her statement with a yawn.

Erik sniffled as he ran his hand down to her arm to where her hand was and pulled. "You love Valentines…I need to make it up to you," he said, much more awake now.

Christine cracked a smile, but didn't stand up. "It's okay, you just go back to sleep…you can make it up to me later, it's still dark out—"

"Dance with me," Erik cut her off, very suddenly as he pulled on her hand again.

"What?" Christine said, laughing slightly.

"C'mon, please," Erik whispered.

Christine studied him for a moment before moving away the quilt and getting up. He had to be sleepwalking…or fever delirious one. The Erik she knew would never do this. But, she obliged him and wrapped her arms around her husband's neck, hugging him close. She felt his hands gently rest on her waist before he began humming a tune she'd never heard before. Most likely something he had come up with on the spot. The world seemed to fall away as she laid her head on his chest, the two of them slowly waltzing around themselves.

Erik stopped humming but their dance continued.

"Do you remember how we met?" Erik said quietly in to her hair, his hands drawing her body closer to his.

"Mhm…" Christine hummed in response, turning her face up to look at him.

"We met on Valentines Day…" Erik continued on as if he hadn't heard Christine answer him.

"I remember," Christine spoke up this time, "it was at Meg's wedding."

She remembered the day vividly, as if it had been yesterday. The red and pink decorations, the mist that had been in the air leftover from the morning rain, the speech she'd been talked into giving, and most of all…she remembered meeting the man in her arms as they both sat like outcasts as the other happy guests enjoyed the wedding reception.

"Meg and Raoul's wedding if I do recall," Erik's voice broke her from her musings.

"Don't remind me," Christine groaned, rolling her eyes.

It was only then that she realized they had stopped dancing and were now just standing in the middle of the dark living room, arms around each other.

"Do you still…miss him?" Erik said cautiously, knowing that he was treading on forbidden 'topic' grounds.

Christine looked down for a moment before looking back up. "No, not for a second…I don't regret a thing. I have you and to me that's…well," she shook her head and stood up on her toes before pressing a kiss to his lips (which he tried to protest, reminding her that he was sick and she was not). "You're worth more than a thousand Raoul Chagnys to me."

Erik toyed with the waist band of her grey sweatpants before speaking. "Really?"

"Really."

Erik blinked and then set his chin on top of her head. "Even when I'm sick and can't take you out for Valentines like a normal man?"

Christine laughed and Erik felt her press herself closer to him. "Especially when you're sick and can't take me out like a normal man."

Erik pressed a kiss to the top her head. "You wanna know a secret?"

Christine looked at him again. "Mhm…"

"I love you," Erik whispered.

"I know," Christine said, smiling.

Erik was silent for a minute, before he broke out into a big grin— a very rare sight for Christine. "Did you just quote Star Wars?" Erik laughed, looking her in the eye.

Christine thought for a moment before she joined him in laughing. "You know, I think I did…look you're rubbing off on me!"

"Took long enough— it's been what? Four years?"

Christine nodded as she yawned, a smile still on her lips. "Four wonderful, wonderful years…I love you," and she ended her statement with another kiss to his lips.

"Happy February fifteenth, dear," Erik said once they parted.

"Happy February fifteenth, Erik," Christine shook her head, smiling as she allowed Erik to lead her back to the couch. She laid down beside of him and snuggled close as he wrapped his arm around her. It wasn't long after that her eyelids began to droop, sleep calling to her once again, but not before she had a realization:

With Erik by her side, they could make any day Valentine's day.

The End.

Hey! Nice to see you made it to the bottom! So, for the second part of this when I post the winners- would you guys rather have a one-shot where Christine gets sick and Erik takes care of her (I mean, she did kiss him quite a few times in this story!) or a one-shot about how they met at Meg's wedding (I'm leaning towards this option)? Tell me in your review! Thanks for reading!