Just a short story about how the first unmasking could have gone. Based on the stage musical. Ramin and Sierra are my Christine and Phantom but feel free to picture whoever you like when you read this.

"Damn you
You little prying Pandora
You little demon
Is this what you wanted to see

Curse you
You little lying Delilah
You little viper
Now you cannot ever be free

Damn you
Curse you

Stranger than you dreamt it
Can you even dare to look
Or bear to think of me

This loathsome gargoyle
Who burns in hell
But secretly
Yearns for heaven
Secretly, secretly
But, Christine

Fear can turn to love
You'll learn to see
To find the man
Behind the monster

This repulsive carcass
Who seems a beast
But secretly
Dream of beauty
Secretly, secretly
Oh, Christine"

Each insult struck her like a slap and she didn't believe she could feel worse, his anger was terrifying but it was her guilt that kept her eyes away from him.

Then his song changed, the insults stopped, the harshness left his voice and the voice of an angel replaced it.

Hi song now was so achingly beautiful, it made her chest tighten and her throat close up, tears came as he pleaded to her in the most devastating but beautiful way.

She couldn't stop herself from looking now, whether or not he wanted her to.

He was lying on the floor behind her and was slowly dragging himself nearer, reaching for her as if her betrayal had brought him down but e still wanted to be close.

His eyes, held tears too. His warm, gentle, sad brown eyes. He lowered the hand that covered his scars just for a moment and she could have slapped herself when she gasped.

He immediately covered his face again with his hand and his tone seemed to turn more broken, barely a hint of hope left in it as he turned away from her After pleading her name.

The more she thought, the more guilty she felt. Guilty and ashamed of what she had done to him by removing his mask.

She had hurt him by her act and that is why he had lashed out as he had.

But even though he had insulted her he had saved the harshest words for himself.

Loathsome gargoyle... beast...repulsive carcass.

He was on his knees facing away from her and now his voice and eyes had let her go she released a breath she hadn't realised she'd been holding.

Her tears weren't held back any longer either.

Her tears belonged to him, they weren't for her, they weren't her guilt or her fear, they were for the breaking heart of an angel.

Her angel.

I'm sorry my angel.

She looked around herself and found his mask, picking it up she thought she would hand it back and give him back his dignity.

But wait, that didn't seem right. Giving it back now, before talking to him would only make things worse, they would both be hiding from the truth.

The truth is, she wanted to know the man behind the mask and she wanted him to know she was not afraid.

Decision made Christine wiped away her tears and reached out a tentative hand to the shaking form before her, hoping that he would not withdraw or become angry once more she placed her hand gently on his shoulder.

His shaking seemed to stop instantly at her touch and though she felt his shoulder tense beneath her hand , he did not pull away nor turn to her with fire in his eyes.

So she finally spoke to him as gently as she could "Angel? Please don't cry, and please do not be angry with me, my curiosity overcame my senses and I acted without thought, I meant you know harm maestro."

She heard him exhale a harsh breath before he spoke in a cool controlled voice, the same voice he used when he was teaching her and was displeased with her progress.

"My mask?"

She held it out to him as she spoke "it is here Angel but please do not hide from me, there is no need."

She retracted the hand she had on his shoulder when she heard him let out a cold mocking laugh.

"You still call me angel? Did you not get a good enough look at the monster before you?"

His harsh mocking words were followed swiftly by movement as he stood and turned towards her looking at where she still knelt before him.

There was no trace of angel or man in his look now, he was the phantom once more, feared by all he accepted this fate, but she was not afraid.

She did not cower from his challenging stare, instead she stood slowly and calmly, she reached for him once more only to pull back as he flinched, when she dropped her arms back down to her sides her heart ached at the fear and confusion in his eyes.

But she heard hope from him in the surprising steady breath he released as he looked at her.

This time when she reached for him, he didn't flinch.

She placed her hands gently on his arms and felt reassured at the strength she could feel in them, her angel had always exuded strength whenever he sang to her, she would hate to lose it now.

"I call you angel because that is who you have always been to me, my angel, who came to stop a child from crying. You gave me comfort, you made me smile, you..." Her words cut off when he pulled away from her once more a look of self hatred in his eyes.

He snatched back his mask and re- placed it, "Christine i am no angel, not even a man, I came to you in lies..."

This time it was Christine who interrupted "I do not care how you came to me, whether it was a man, angel or phantom, what matters is that you came.

He looked at her with self hatred still in his eyes.

And as he spoke once more she was reminded why she had so easily believed him to be an angel, his voice was so beautifully pure, it seemed to wrap around her like a warm cloak on a cold night.

"I couldn't leave you grieving alone my dear ;not when you were calling out so sweetly for an angel I knew would never come."

Overcome with the emotions his voice evoked especially when he called her my dear something he hadn't done for some time now, she did something that was pure instinct.

She threw her arms around her angel in a sweet embrace.

She felt a brief moment of bliss at finally being able to embrace her angel before panic set in. He was trembling in her arms and as she was pressed against him she was unable to read his expression to discern whether his shaking was fear or rage.

She was about to pull away and already had an apology forming in her mind but before she could, she felt strong but trembling arms wrap around her as her angel breathed her name.

"My angel of music, your heart is even purer than I thought to bless a monster like me with your sweet embrace, it is a gift I will not take lightly."

She felt her cheeks grow warm as he held her even closer ,barely any space between them she was pressed against his chest and could feel every beat of his heart a pleased sigh escaped her lips as she felt a hand gently stroke through her curls.

Suddenly there was something she desperately needed to know. She pulled back just enough to look up into his eyes which were regarding her gently with something that looked like hope.

"Angel, what is your name?"

He seemed to hesitate after hearing her question and he stood silently staring into her eyes as if searching for something before he nodded to himself and spoke quietly once again.

"Eric, my name is Eric.

The end

Hey guys I've only seen the musical on stage no movie versions and I haven't read the book though I will do soon. The name at the end I read in other fanfics so decided to use it here, hope you enjoyed my first phantom fic.