25
When Erik leaves the washroom he does not appear pleased in the very least—he even looks flustered, and stalks toward Raoul, pulling at his necktie to loosen it, seemingly frustrated at it alone – until the dark blue eyes land on Raoul, and his lips part in a half grimace. A little piece of silk is clearly not occupying the Phantom's mind. He quickly pushes past the people, and comes to stand beside Raoul, and the younger man watches him once again turn into naught but a shadow. It is so masterfully done, such a gradual change, that Raoul now understands how Erik was able to keep himself hidden in solitude for so many years. He is far too clever for human blindness.
"She followed –" Erik cuts himself off before he even begins, and almost instantly he closes off again, channeling forward not his vulnerability but a cold frustration as he fights with his necktie. Raoul glances about them, to see if they have caught any attention, and when he is satisfied moves in to stand before Erik, extricating the tight mess the Countess made of his tie.
The Phantom lifts his chin and with poorly masked chagrin allows Raoul to work. His neck, just below his square jaw line, is like the skin of a baby to the back of Raoul's fingers and his calloused knuckles. Erik always manages to shave so close and yet never scathe himself. More than that his usually cold skin is warm now, as if some part of him has only just began to live after years of dormancy.
"There," Raoul finishes with a quiet breath, and drops his gloved hands at his sides. "Are you all right?" Erik's eyes darken in this light, and Raoul nods, unwilling to push the topic any farther than Erik appears eager to discuss. "Good. To dinner?"
"Lead the way," Erik says. He tucks his gloves into his pocket and stands to the side. "You're always eager to do so."
Raoul feels himself bristle slightly but says nothing, and moves toward the dining hall. Erik does have reason to be irritated with him, after a run-in with that Countess of Foxhall. Raoul hardly knows her aside from various Paris parties, and dinner between her and Philippe. When he was a young boy it was rumored his brother was courting the widow, but it lasted only two weeks before Philippe was vehemently denying those rumors.
She was always said, by those closest to her, to be more predator than prey, and it is clear tonight she sees some sort of opportunity in Erik. Perhaps she can sense a vulnerability in the composers' cold exterior that not even Raoul can detect – he knows it to be there but only because he has spent long, dark hours observing it. Raoul has paid the price for knowing Erik so well, and it is a price he would not wish on even his worst enemy – though the Countess seems almost entirely invincible and as they pass her in the hallway Raoul feels himself draw closer to Erik.
At dinner, neither Raoul or Erik speak more than is absolutely necessary, even as they are the center of attention and discussion.