Disclaimer: Please don't sue. I don't own POTO... All I own is an overactive imagination.

Summary: ErikRaoul slash. Post-POTO. A bit of R/C (yeah). General discontent runs through the characters as they are forced to adjust their views of happily ever after. I guess a bit of E/C as well (but that's usually unavoidable)

Warning(s): slash (that's homosexual content for those of you who don't know)

Pairing(s): ErikRaoul

A/N: Busy holiday. Apparently holidays make me want to write stories. I can't wait to see what happens during Christmas. :) But yeah, don't expect very much updates on Human Anatomy. I needed something to offset Think of Me and that happened.

Story note: Not as long, but Erik and Raoul have another interaction.

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Reluctantly Willing

Chapter 09 - … to surrender

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By: Lucifer Rosemaunt

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Erik hadn't been able to wait patiently in the room. He'd rather quickly reached his limit of wondering where the Vicomte was and what he was doing. He'd been sitting in the Vicomte's chair when he decided that he should be able to leave the room without being seen. That was their deal, right? For him to not be seen. Sure, there'd been the part about staying in the room, but he wasn't about to let that stop him.

Opening the door slowly, Erik peeked his head out and immediately pulled back when he saw the Vicomte down the hallway at the top of the stairs. The blonde apparently didn't hear him, so he looked out once more. He leaned on the doorjamb and kept his hand on the door so that it wouldn't open any further than necessary.

The Vicomte was just sitting there.

Erik watched him. He didn't even consciously think to do so. That's all he'd been doing for the past two days after all; it was reflex now. He catalogued everything he saw. The Vicomte's hands were grabbing his pant legs. His back was ramrod straight and he kept looking down the hallway expectantly. Erik could easily tell that he was nervous. And now, he knew that Christine was going to be coming from down the hall. Hopefully, that's who the blonde was waiting for.

He still couldn't figure out the Vicomte. Nothing ever made sense when the blonde was involved: nothing with Christine, nothing even between them. And their relationship should have been easy to define. They were rivals. They hated each other. They… Erik couldn't even put it into words. They were just supposed to want to kill each other not help each other and be hospitable. And more importantly, they didn't allow the other to speak with Christine. If the Vicomte weren't married to her, what he was doing now made even less sense. It meant that Erik had a better chance of taking Christine away from him. The Vicomte was changing all the rules between them. Or maybe, he was trying to. Erik shook his head and ducked back in the room when he heard a door down the hallway open.

Erik held his breath so that he could hear her footsteps. Erik could map her progress down the hallway from sound alone and knew when she saw Raoul. Her steps slowed. Erik couldn't help but look out the door again.

His first sight of Christine took his breath away, literally. She looked beautiful even if she looked annoyed. It was like no time had passed; she looked as beautiful as he remembered. Her hair was a little longer and the dress she wore was exquisite. More importantly, she looked healthy. The Vicomte appeared to have given her everything she needed.

What could he possibly give her that the Vicomte couldn't? Erik stopped second guessing himself; that's all he'd been doing after she'd left. He could give her a life of music. He could give her her dreams.

Erik gripped the door tighter to keep himself in check. He wanted to walk into that hallway, wanted to just grab her and go. But, he could wait. He needed the introduction before he raced forward. There was also that part of him that wondered if the Vicomte were indeed going to inform her of his presence.

The moment Christine saw Raoul, she hesitated. Erik smirked. So, Christine wasn't pleased to see the blonde. That meant his chances were good. Maybe she'd realized her mistake, but why would she have stayed with him all this time? Why hadn't she returned to him?

Erik shook his head. He would find out soon enough.

Listening to their conversation, Erik couldn't help but be in high spirits. This was what triumph felt like. The Vicomte was losing Christine. That much was obvious. The boy couldn't hold onto her and tonight was the night that Erik would be able to rectify all the wrongs of their past. He would have her. That was where she belonged after all.

He should have been happier; he was aware of that fact. He tried to ignore the undercurrent of displeasure but it was still there. It grew as their conversation progressed, especially when they began to talk about him. Of course the Vicomte hadn't been as eloquent as expected when telling her about his presence, but it was better than simply walking up to her.

Her reaction was less than desirable. This might look like Christine, but she was different. Her attitude was different, and not just towards Raoul. The way she held herself when speaking to him, the way that she stood and spoke. She reminded him of the time when she was younger and had thrown tantrums. It hadn't occurred often, but this was almost like revisiting the past. He still wanted her.

Something more than just the Vicomte himself was bothering her. She was just redirecting the problem against their current situation. Erik wondered what it could possibly be. Whatever it was, it was ruining their relationship and Erik couldn't help but worry if the same thing would happen between them.

Christine was treating Raoul badly. That should have made him feel happy, but Christine had professed her love to him. She had professed undying love to that boy and yet here she was apparently avoiding him and effectively pushing him out of her life. She was avoiding him, yelling at him, and giving him a lot less than he deserved.

God, was Erik thinking about what the Vicomte deserved? The boy deserved to die and that was it. Erik just… he just wondered how she would treat him when he couldn't give her the amenities that a Vicomte could. Yet, maybe that was the discontent she felt. Perhaps what was bothering her was simply the fact that she had chosen incorrectly, that she wanted to change her mind.

Her parting words however, soured any thought or hope that he had a better chance of claiming her. Maybe he wasn't as much of a solution as he'd hoped.

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Raoul didn't feel like moving. All his energy had left as soon as Christine slammed the door. His seat on the step seemed like the best place for him to be at the moment.

He didn't regret what he'd said. He'd told her the truth, finally been able to say what he'd wanted to say to her. He just couldn't understand what Christine had just said. How could he have been the one that kept pulling her back to the opera house, to their past? They had brought nothing away from the opera house. He never mentioned their past. Hell, they barely talked, barely saw each other. How could he have been the problem? He must have been doing something wrong though. She had gone through so much; maybe he wasn't as sensitive as he should have been. He wanted to give her what she wanted.

Yet, in the end, she hadn't given him an answer to what she'd wanted. She told him she'd chosen. That should have been enough for him to keep pursuing her, to give her more time, but he was absolutely certain that just because she said the words didn't mean that they were true. He just kept coming to the same solution. If she didn't talk to the ghost, nothing would ever change. They would never change.

But that meant that he might lose her. He'd been willing to let that happen, but the closer it was to happening, the more he was beginning to wonder. What could he do though? The ghost… there was the ghost to worry about.

Raoul let out a frustrated groan. The ghost had seen everything that had happened. He'd completely forgotten about the open door.

When he heard the footsteps come closer, he didn't bother to look up. The ghost knew everything now. He knew about their relationship, how could he not, but before the man could say anything, Raoul decided he might as well tell the ghost everything.

"I found you there in the alley," Raoul started. It was best to clear the air completely. There was nothing else he could really do and holding this one more lie took too much effort. He just couldn't do it anymore.

Erik stopped at the top of the stairs and stared at the Vicomte's back. He hadn't been sure what he was about to do but he didn't feel staying the room was necessary any longer. The boy had in fact kept his end of their deal. Too bad it hadn't gone the way that he'd expected.

"I was going to leave you there once I found out who you were," Raoul said, his voice distant. He looked up and stared at the closed door. He couldn't seem to focus on anything but the pain of her absence, of her walking out on him. Could he keep saying that he loved her? Every time he tried, she threw that love back in his face. He shouldn't want to stop having to say it. "I don't know why I helped you. I carried you back here myself."

Erik scoffed, rolling his eyes. "No one asked you to." He hoped that the boy didn't expect him to thank him.

Raoul continued as though he hadn't heard him, "It was nice. Almost nice." His next words were muffled as he covered his face with his hands. He couldn't bear to look at the door any more. Christine storming out replayed over and over in his mind.

"What was?" Erik asked even though he was certain the Vicomte wasn't even listening.

"Having someone to talk to. Having someone listen."

Erik wanted to say he hadn't been listening, but the words stuck in his throat. This man didn't deserve his pity. He wasn't even sure why he wasn't leaving already, but he wanted to hear what the blonde had to say. He wanted to know what had happened. The whole prisoner situation had seemed off to begin with. At least now, he would be able to find out the truth.

"It was nice to be able to take care of someone. Christine doesn't want to see me. She hasn't wanted to since that day. Since she left you." Raoul sighed again. He just couldn't stop himself from talking. It was unbelievably nice to say the words aloud. He was starting to think that it didn't matter if someone was even listening anymore. He couldn't be sure that the ghost was even there any longer. The man hadn't made a sound for a while now. "She doesn't want to be touched, doesn't want to speak, doesn't want to be seen." Raoul laughed harshly, "Well, at least not by me."

Erik thought about Christine's parting words, that she apparently didn't want to see him either. However, he wasn't like the Vicomte. He would still fight for her. He would make her see that he was exactly what she needed.

"We aren't married. We haven't done anything but live in the same house since then." Raoul nodded. That was it. That was everything, wasn't it? He had no more to say about the subject. But he did have something to say about the ghost. "You were never a prisoner. You," Raoul didn't know what he really wanted with the ghost, wanted for the ghost, "I just wanted you to get better." Raoul shrugged. He knew what his original excuse had been. He'd thought about the fact that the he had wanted the ghost to heal just so that they could fight and he would feel honour in the battle, but truthfully he'd stopped caring. He just wanted the ghost to get well.

In all truths, Raoul believed that he would have taken anyone in that alley home. At least, that's what he believed. He couldn't be certain, but the ghost was hardly a reason to become compassionate all of a sudden. It had been a desperate need to be close to someone, to be of use. It had just been his misfortune that he'd found the ghost. "Just better. You can leave."

Erik didn't know what to say. The boy was pathetic. Yet, he couldn't judge too harshly. He wanted to but found that he couldn't because he knew that he'd fallen even lower than the Vicomte. He'd been closer to death. He'd starved himself and been almost killed. That was pathetic in itself.

He hadn't needed the boy's permission to leave though. He walked down the stairs, not giving Raoul a second glance. Stopping at the bottom of the stairwell, he felt he needed to say something, to gloat because that's what he did, right? He was supposed to lord over the fact that the Vicomte was pathetic.

"You lied."

Raoul looked at the ghost's back. "I omitted some facts."

"You were using me," Erik realized. The boy had wanted a reason to confront Christine and he'd provided the perfect opportunity. The Vicomte had been desperate, so desperate that he would have even allowed the ghost to speak with her if it meant that he might lose her.

"And you weren't using me?"

Erik had to give him that. He had been using the Vicomte, too.

They had nothing left to say to each other. He hesitated, but he headed towards the door. He didn't know why he had hesitated in the first place. It felt like there was still something left unsaid between them. He shrugged that feeling aside. If he hurried, he might be able to catch Christine and then be able to have that conversation with her.

When his hand was on the doorknob, Raoul called out. "Wait."

Raoul watched as the ghost's back straightened and he actually stopped. He hadn't expected that, but then again, he hadn't expected to call out. Just watching another person leave would hurt too much. He felt a type of desperation he usually only felt with Christine. He didn't know why he felt it with the ghost, but all he knew was that he couldn't bear to see anyone else walk out on him.

"What?" Erik asked, wondering why he wasn't just walking out right now.

Raoul stood up and held out his hand and pulled it back to himself, shoving it into his pocket. Why had he reached out? He shook his head glad the ghost hadn't turned around. He chastised himself for feeling so much desperation, and especially for the next word. "Stay."

This time the ghost did turn around in disbelief. "What?"

Raoul met his eyes. "You won't find her." It was unspoken that he knew from experience.

The ghost scoffed and shook his head. "I'm not you."

Raoul laughed. He practically whispered, "That's good." He walked down the stairs, stopping on the last step. He didn't know what he was doing, but he just needed to do something. Something for the both of them. He was tired of waiting, tired of holding on so tightly to the little he had. If Christine wasn't going to change willingly, then he'd force her to. "She'll come back before the night is done."

Erik narrowed his eyes. Was the Vicomte actually suggesting he stay here longer? "And if she doesn't?"

Raoul shrugged, now unable to meet the man's eyes. He reminded himself that he was offering his home only because there was nothing else he could do. "Then, I'll keep out of your way until she does." He walked by him then. He was out of the door before Erik could reply.

"I'll steal" was the only thing Erik could think to say.

Raoul looked over his shoulder with a smirk. "I didn't know you to be a thief."

He clarified. "Her."

Turning around, Raoul sighed. "Hopefully…"

Erik wondered if the boy actually wanted him to win.

"… hopefully something'll change." Raoul finished before leaving.

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End Chapter 09

Word count: 2,659

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A/N: Don't forget to R/R (Read and Review)!

Chapter review: It was short, but man, Raoul makes me so sad sometimes. He needs a hug (but when I write him, when doesn't he need a hug?).