Disclaimer: If I owned any of the characters or anything to do with POTO/LND...I would not be wasting my time writing fanfics about them...
6. If Music Be The Food Of Love, Play On
It was still quite early when Gustave de Chagny jumped out of bed and raced downstairs to the sitting room. It was the boy's sixth birthday and he couldn't wait to see what his mother had got for him as a present. His heart was practically bursting with hope as he paused outside the closed door. Closing his eyes tight shut, he whispered a quiet wish into the empty air around him and kept his eyes closed as he pushed open the door and shuffled into the room.
As he slowly cranked open one eye, he let out a whoop of excitement and happiness and jumped into the air, both eyes now firmly wide open. He kept whooping and laughing as he ran across the room and scrambled up onto the large stool which stood in front of the piano. The boy grinned from ear to ear as his small fingers stroked the ivory keys softly. Ever since he had seen the instrument six months ago when his mother had taken him with her to the market, he had begged and pleaded and wished and prayed with all his might to be allowed to have it. His father had just frowned and sternly refused, but Gustave wasn't surprised. His father was always saying no to him. But his mother... Gustave thought that his mother wouldn't ever say no to him about anything. And the fact he now had this present was proof. The boy tucked his legs under him as he knelt on the stool and closed his eyes, letting his fingers move over the keys as he played, notes pouring out of soul and into his hands as they controlled his movements. He smiled to himself. This music sounded so...beautiful. He could hardly believe it was him playing it.
Raoul stood in the doorway, watching silently as the boy continued to play, unaware of his father's presence. Raoul looked at Gustave and frowned. He had tried so hard to stop the boy discovering this side of himself – even having endless arguments about it with Christine. And now it seemed she had ignored his fears and wishes and had gone behind his back. He was no longer sure if she did it on purpose or whether she was really so naïve about the effect her actions had on him. It seemed to Raoul that she was barely one step away from telling both of them the truth. While he would naturally feel relieved and thankful that she was finally being honest with him, he still couldn't bear the thought of it. And how would the boy react..? Had she considered that? No, it was better for everyone that things stayed as they were. But now that Gustave was able to embrace his natural musical talent, it seemed there was little left of him that Raoul could even try to connect with...
There was no way he could pretend he had helped to get the piano. Gustave would never believe him; he had said no to the boy too many times before. And so the boy would still feel closer to his mother...and hate him. Raoul sighed quietly and closed his eyes in despair, leaning against the wall. He couldn't understand it. Christine had snapped at him many times for not seeming to care enough about the child, then when he tried to she merely twisted the situation so that she could seem to be an angel...
Of course, the child being musically gifted could be explained away: his mother obviously was, and Raoul...there was always his violin. He had thought many times over the years about his old violin gathering dust in the attic, but he couldn't play anymore. There were too many memories associated with it, and all of them tainted by the Phantom into something unbearable. But still, he could play if he wanted to... Raoul sighed again as he listened to the boy's music. He recognized it, of course he did. Anyone who had ever heard the Phantom's compositions would. He felt a tear crawl down his cheek and realized he no longer had the effort to wipe it away.
(A/N: Because I can foresee a lot of weirdness about the violin...yes, Raoul can play the violin, and yes, this is canon. Don't believe me? Read the original novel. Included this simply because I'm fed up of people (*cough*obsessive-Erik-phangirls*cough*) saying that Raoul doesn't belong with Christine because he's not musical. He is musical!)