A/N: This is a story I'm starting as a place to collect fic prompts from Tumblr, starting off with a prompt from Tumblr user pettitbird: "E/C, things you said when you were drunk". Enjoy!
Erik looked up from his piano in irritation as his phone buzzed, but after a moment the haze of composing cleared and he reached for it, wondering which one of the only two people who ever messaged him was currently doing so. Nadir rarely reached out to him this late, and ever since Christine had started dating her incredibly annoying boyfriend, her messages had mostly been confined to discussing times for her voice lessons.
Hey Erik would you be able to come get me? It was Christine, but she hadn't asked him for a ride like this in months, not since before she started seeing that boy. However, there was no way he could say no to her - even though she would always think of him only as her strange voice teacher, his feelings for her were quite different, and he would never leave her stranded anywhere for any longer than he could help it.
Already rising to grab his mask and car keys, he answered her as he walked to his car. Of course, Christine. Just let me know your location, and I'll be there as soon as possible.
She had already answered him by the time he reached his vehicle, and then he was on his way downtown, to Christine.
xxxxx
When Erik pulled up on the street in front of one of the establishments that college students in their city seemed to enjoy frequenting, he immediately noticed Christine, who seemed to be leaning against her friend Meg just slightly. As Meg led her over to the car, he noticed that both girls were slightly unsteady on their feet, although Christine seemed a trifle worse.
"Hi, Erik," she said, gazing up at him with her blue eyes gleaming as he came around the vehicle to meet them. "Thanks for coming to get me."
"Of course. You know I'm always happy to help you out."
Opening the car door, he assisted Christine inside, looking at Meg. "Do you need a ride, too?" After all, the two lived together - it only made sense if they were going to the same place.
Meg shook her blonde head. "Thanks, but Sorelli is coming to pick me up - actually, there she is now." Looking at Christine inside the car, she said, "Night, Christine, my ride's here. See you tomorrow," before quickly bouncing over to the car that had pulled up behind his.
Erik shut the passenger side door before going around to his seat, watching in the rearview mirror until he saw Meg and her girlfriend pull away safely. Looking over at Christine, he surreptitiously confirmed that she had her seat belt buckled correctly before fastening his own and pulling out into the street.
Glancing over at her as he stopped at a red light at the end of the block, Erik saw that Christine was watching him with a smile on her face. "Thanks again," she said softly when she saw that he was looking at her.
"Naturally, I am always happy to give you a ride Christine, you know that." As the light turned green, Erik returned his attention to the street. "Although, I confess that I'm surprised you didn't ask your boyfriend for a ride."
Christine let out a little huff of air. "Actually, Raoul and I broke up yesterday. That's why Meg and I were out tonight."
In spite of himself, Erik felt his gaze shoot to her, but Christine didn't seem to notice as he quickly returned his attention to driving. "I'm sorry to hear that," he lied, heart racing as he reminded himself that whether Christine had a boyfriend or not, she was never going to be interested in someone like him.
"Oh, it's fine, really. He's a great guy, we just want different things."
Erik stole another glance at her, surprised to see that Christine was staring intently at him as she spoke those words. For a mad second, he felt his imagination start to run wild, but he quickly reined it back in.
Remembering other nights when he had picked her up after a night out, Erik gestured ahead to a brightly lit sign. "Want me to stop?"
xxxxx
After he had purchased Christine her tacos in the restaurant's drive-thru lane, Erik handed her the bag and pulled back out into the late-night traffic, smiling to himself as she immediately opened it and pulled out a taco.
"Thanks for stopping, Erik. I wish you'd gotten something, though."
"I wasn't hungry, my dear. Now, let's get you home."
Christine paused so long that Erik had to glance at her again, only to find her blue eyes looking at him imploringly. "Well, if you don't mind, I thought maybe I could stay with you tonight." Apparently mistaking his surprise for reluctance, she continued, "I don't want to be alone tonight."
xxxxx
A short time later, Erik was ushering Christine inside his home, still not sure what was happening. Before the start of her relationship with Raoul, she had stayed at his house multiple times, but he had thought those days were in the past for good now. Fortunately, she had left some comfortable clothes for sleeping in the spare room that he thought of as hers, and he had left the guest bathroom fully stocked with all the toiletries he had purchased for her, so at least she would be comfortable.
Noticing that Christine was still swaying a little as she entered the bathroom, Erik went to retrieve some clothes for her, reaching inside the open door to set them on the counter as she brushed her teeth. Trying to ignore the way his heart clenched at the little smile of thanks she gave him, he nodded in return and went to his own room to change for bed, now that it was obvious he wouldn't be doing any more composing tonight.
xxxxx
When Christine joined him in the living room a few minutes later, Erik rose, intending to escort her to her room, but she surprised him by walking toward his instead. Obviously sensing his surprise, she looked up at him with a pleading look in her eyes. "Can I sleep in your room? With you?"
As always, he was unable to deny Christine anything, so Erik merely nodded and escorted her silently to his door, pausing while she pulled back the comforter on the bed, unable to miss the happy sigh she gave as she snuggled into his silk sheets. Once she was settled, he turned off the lights and joined her in the large bed, attempting to stay on the very edge so as to give Christine plenty of space, but it seemed she had other ideas, as she promptly tucked herself up against his side, reaching for his mask and pausing with her fingers on it, waiting for him to give a curt nod before she pulled it from his face and tossed it on the floor.
"Good night, Erik," she whispered, and just as he was about to respond in kind, he was shocked to feel Christine suddenly shift next to him before her sweet lips pressed a kiss to his thin mouth.
Overwhelmed with shock, Erik found himself returning her gentle kiss for a few long moments, before a dreadful realization snapped him back to reality, and he pulled away, ashamed. Kissing Christine when she had been drinking was a new low, even for him. Obviously she would never desire his kiss if she was sober.
Thankfully, Christine allowed him to end the ill-advised kiss, although she further surprised him by settling her head on his shoulder. "Good night," he whispered, embarrassed by how emotional he sounded, but she didn't seem to notice.
"Good night," she said again, and just as he was sure she was nearly asleep, Christine shocked him even further. "I love you, Erik," she murmured sleepily, tightening the arm she had flung around his waist while they kissed.
As her breathing became peaceful with sleep, Erik was feeling anything but as his mind whirled. He tried to remind himself that Christine didn't know what she was saying, but his treacherous heart couldn't stop replaying her words in his mind.
xxxxx
Christine awoke the next morning to find herself alone in Erik's bed. Her first impulse was simply to roll over and fall back asleep, but as she lay there the events of the night before became more and more clear in her mind, and soon sleep was not an option with the way that her mind was racing.
She didn't know if it was alcohol or stress, or possibly a combination of the two, but after months and months of being afraid of telling Erik about her feelings for him out of fear of what it might do to their friendship, Christine could barely believe that in one night she had asked to sleep in his bed with him, kissed him, and told him she loved him. It was completely unlike her to be so bold, although in retrospect maybe this had been coming for a while now.
Even though she had been drinking, Christine had no doubts about the truth of her confession last night - she just wished she had a better handle on Erik's feelings for her. The man was ridiculously hard to read, and she was constantly alternating between being sure that he was in love with her and thinking that he really didn't see her as anything more than a student with a voice he thought was remarkable. That uncertainty had kept her from telling him how she felt before now, and she still wasn't entirely sure that Erik returned her feelings, although the memory of their kiss last night and the way he had held her as she fell asleep gave her hope.
At least one good thing would come of her reckless behavior - one way or the other, she would know if there was any hope for a future together for the two of them.
xxxxx
After stopping in the bathroom to brush her teeth and try to tame her wild curls a bit, Christine headed for the kitchen. Erik had always made breakfast for her when she had stayed overnight at his place before, and she was happy to see that today was no exception.
However, her heart dropped a little when she entered the room. As she took a seat at the kitchen island, Erik turned to her, and to her disappointment, Christine saw that he was wearing his mask. After last night, she had been hoping he would finally realize he didn't need it when it was just the two of them.
He greeted her politely, if not overly warmly. "Good morning, Christine."
She smiled as he placed a plate with a piece of toast on it in front of her. "The eggs are almost ready. I started them when I heard you get up."
Uncertain, she spread some butter on the toast, grateful that her only physical symptom from her overindulgence last night was a slight headache. As if reading her mind, Erik set a glass of water and a bottle of Excedrin by her plate before turning back to the stovetop. While she made use of the pills, he brought the eggs over, adding some to her plate before taking a small portion for himself.
Once he had carried over a mug of hot tea for each of them, Erik took a seat next to her, and they started eating in awkward silence. Christine tried desperately to think of something to say to break the tension, but nothing seemed appropriate. By the time Erik rose to take their plates to the dishwasher, however, she could stand it no longer.
"Erik...about last night…" Christine began hesitantly, unable to miss the way his already-erect posture stiffened even further, not really sure what she intended to say.
"Yes?" he replied shortly, not turning back to her after he finished at the appliance.
"I...wondered what you thought about what I said?" Christine asked, cringing in embarrassment at her inability to get a coherent sentence out.
Still not facing her, he responded, "Oh, I wasn't sure if you would remember anything or not."
Rolling her eyes at his lack of an answer, Christine answered, "I wasn't anywhere close to that drunk, Erik. Of course I remember everything."
Somehow, he stiffened even more. "I see. Well, let me put your mind at ease." Christine felt the beginning of a grin, sure that Erik was about to confess his feelings for her, but his next words dashed that hope. "I know you had been drinking, and were probably upset over your breakup. Obviously I know you didn't mean anything you said, and I'm more than happy to pretend the whole thing never happened."
Suddenly, something inside Christine snapped, and she felt words coming out of her mouth that she seemingly had no control over. "Well, I'm not happy with that. I finally got brave enough to tell you how I feel about you, and you're not even going to acknowledge it? If you don't feel the same way, that's fine, but you could at least tell me!"
At her words, Erik spun around. Even with the mask she could tell he was shocked at her words. "Christine! What are you saying? Do you truly expect me to believe that you have romantic feelings for me?"
Standing, she whispered, "Yes. I have for a while now, why is that so hard to believe? And I've thought...that maybe you have feelings for me, too."
His eyes closed. "Of course I have feelings for you, Christine. You're everything to me."
As she smiled and took an eager step toward him, Erik held up a hand. "But how could you possibly want me in your life, romantically? It could never work."
Hesitating, Christine asked "Why not?", even though all she wanted was to throw herself into Erik's arms.
In answer, he silently reached up and removed his mask. Even though Christine had seen Erik without it many times by now, she still felt that momentary hesitation, before the fact that this was the man she loved settled firmly in her mind. Reaching out, she grabbed his hand and pulled him to sit back down on the stool he had vacated minutes before, continuing to stand in front of him.
Staring into his deep-set eyes, hoping Erik could read her feelings in her gaze, Christine deliberately shifted her gaze over his face, taking in his sunken cheeks and thin, papery skin before pausing for a long moment at the spot where his nose should be. When she returned her eyes to his, Christine thought she could detect a gleam in their dark sockets.
Just before she leaned in to kiss him, she murmured quietly but firmly, "I love you, Erik." As her lips met his mouth, Christine felt him hold himself back for a moment, before suddenly his arms wrapped around her and he started returning her kiss, only breaking away after a few moments to tell her, "Oh, Christine, I love you too, so much," before they resumed their embrace.
When they finally broke apart, Christine let her forehead rest against his, loving the feeling of Erik's long hands stroking over her back gently, as though he couldn't believe she was in his arms.
Knowing the difficulty Erik had with personal relationships, Christine sought to reassure him. "We can take this as slow as you need, Erik. Just know that I care for you very much, and I'm serious about wanting this to work between us."
Erik closed his eyes as her words, and for a long moment Christine was afraid she had pushed him too far for one day, but then his arms tightened around her.
"Slow? Christine, I'm afraid that I'm going to scare you with how serious I am about you."
At his words, Christine felt a huge smile spread across her face. "I don't think that's possible. I feel like we've waited long enough to get to this point."
Erik kissed her cheek in response. "Good, because I have to admit, I liked the fact that you wanted to sleep in my room last night, probably too much."
Somehow, Christine felt her smile grow even wider. "Is that so? Well, you should know that I liked sleeping there, a lot. In fact, I think I'd be happy to sleep there every night from now on - well, that and other things." Who was this bold person confessing all her innermost thoughts?
Christine wondered if she'd said too much, but the way Erik growled her name before kissing her once again, combined with him picking her up and carrying her back to the room in question, told her everything she needed to know about Erik's feelings on the matter.
A/N: If anyone has any fic prompts they would like me to try, feel free to send me an ask on Tumblr - you can find me there under the same user name, sloanedestler. Thanks to everyone for reading, and comments are appreciated, as always!