"I know I promised you anything, but you might want to reconsider." Erik couldn't meet her eyes, instead staring at the half eaten birthday cake on the table. He wasn't very practiced in celebrating birthdays, which is why he'd so enjoyed the opportunity to celebrate hers. They'd spent the day together, him catering to her every whim, but he'd made her that foolish promise of giving her whatever gift she wanted.
"I do appreciate the thought behind it," he said. "But you must understand, my face isn't… I don't expect you to accept it. I'm happy to wear my mask around you, and that needn't change. Even if you insist on seeing behind it now." Even though it would be useless then. But if by some miracle she did manage to still have some modicum of affection for him after she'd seen his face, he wasn't cruel enough to force her to accept seeing it all the time. He loved her and wanted to give her only beauty. Yet how could he deny her anything?
"Is there anything else that might do?" he asked, yet stubborn silence met his plea. He looked up to see her staring patiently, kindly. She believed he could do this. She believed it wouldn't change things between them. He wanted to believe her too, so with one shaking hand he reached up and removed his mask.
There was always a sickening feeling of falling when he removed his mask, fear pulling at him to hide somewhere dark where he couldn't be seen. But he was practiced at it now and held steady, looking down at the mask in his hands before he dared to look up and meet her eyes. Her expression hadn't changed; she was still looking at him with all the love in the world.
"Oh my dear," he said, reaching out to her and picking her up. He cradled Ayesha in his hands, and she nuzzled lovingly against his chin. "You don't know how much this means to me."
It might not have been quite what he hoped for, that another person would look at him without revulsion, that he'd be accepted by a being made of flesh and blood instead of Ayesha's soft fabric pelt. But a part of him had truly been afraid to show those beautiful button eyes his horrible face, so he'd worn his mask around her even though she'd been with him for a year. This was a step forward for them. She loved him just the same, with or without his mask, and it helped him believe that maybe it truly didn't matter. That she wouldn't be the only one. But she would always be the first.