A/N: This story was inspired by some very funny sketches done by the wonderful PotO artist Lebzpel! Thanks for letting me write this, Leb!

Also, please ignore any legal inaccuracies :)

C/W: Some swearing

"I said!" Erik repeated himself, feeling his anger growing the longer the irritated-looking nurse in his hospital room continued to ignore him. "Did anyone get the goddamn plates?"

Even though the woman rudely remained silent, he continued, "I'm suing the everliving ass off whatever dumbass driver hit me when I was simply trying to legally cross the street-"

"Um, hi, that's me…"

At the hesitant voice emanating from the doorway, Erik snapped his head around, suddenly beyond grateful that he had badgered the nurse into giving him a surgical mask to wear - since his own mask had been damaged in the accident - when he saw the charming creature who stood there uncertainly, looking as though she might flee at any second.

"Hello, I'm…" she began before cutting herself off. "Okay, sorry, but I'm not telling you my name. You know, because of what you just said about the suing."

Stunned, Erik continued to gape at her while she looked away nervously, seeming to be collecting her thoughts. Had he ever seen such a beautiful girl? She truly was a vision, with short blonde hair framing an adorable face and big, worried blue eyes - not to mention the most lovely speaking voice that he had ever heard. Vaguely, he found himself wondering if she could sing.

Seeming to gather herself, she continued, "But, I-I just wanted to say that I'm so sorry for running you over. I was late for rehearsal, and I didn't see you in the crosswalk, I guess."

Still unable to form any words, Erik simply continued to stare as she suddenly darted into the room, thrusting the flowers that he hadn't realized she was holding until that minute at him.

"Anyway, um, I hope you get better soon! Please don't sue me!" she said nervously before turning and practically running out of the door, finally attracting the attention of the nurse.

"Miss!" the other woman chastised her, "You can't run in a hospital!", but her words fell on deaf ears as Erik's mysterious visitor was already long gone.

"Sir?" she asked him, finally acknowledging him. "Do you want us to call security?"

"No!" he snapped, turning his attention to the plastic-wrapped bouquet of flowers his angel had given him. They had obviously come from a grocery store, but to Erik they were priceless. "Don't you dare! I think I'm in love," he added to himself, already reaching for his phone. He had to figure out his beloved's name, for a start, so he could find a way to see her again.

xxxxx

Christine left the hospital and drove home to the apartment she shared with her best friend, still shaken from the events of the day. Fortunately Meg was working, so at least Christine didn't have to try to explain everything that had happened in detail just yet.

Collapsing on the couch, she let out a shaky breath, trying to calm herself. Thinking about how close she had come to inadvertently ruining everything when she finally had her life back on track was doing nothing to help her nerves.

Christine had merely been going to rehearsal for the community theater production of Mamma Mia! in which she was playing the role of Sophie - and only running slightly late - when she had made an unfortunately quick right turn, accidentally bumping into the tall, thin man in the crosswalk with her car. Fortunately he hadn't been seriously hurt, and she had only received a ticket, but the knowledge of how much worse it could have been was terrifying.

And now she had to worry about his threat to sue her, on top of everything else! Christine didn't have much, but she had received a modest inheritance when Mamma Valérius had passed away, and she was counting on that money to help her make it through college and have a bit of a cushion in life. If that angry man in the hospital took that security away from her, it would be devastating.

Pulling a blanket over herself, Christine closed her eyes and tried to will away the sick feeling in her stomach. That man with the deep-set, strange golden eyes had no idea who she was, and there was no reason to think that he would be able to find out.

Surely everything would be fine, and she was worried for no reason.

xxxxx

Erik settled into his seat in the corner of the balcony of the community theater, clutching the bouquet of blood-red roses he had brought with him to the performance. This would be the fourth and final show where he watched his Christine shine on stage in this silly musical that he had to admit was growing on him, although that might mostly be due to how much he enjoyed watching Christine perform in it.

It had been a fairly simple manner to figure out who she was, especially since she had mentioned being on her way to a rehearsal when they had their original fateful meeting. In a small college town like this, it had been easy enough to determine what she might have been rehearsing for, and a glance at the online cast list had quickly helped Erik deduce her name.

From there, Erik had merely searched for her on social media, something he never used, but he managed to navigate the sites well enough to learn more about his beloved. Christine's Facebook profile didn't yield much information, but he had more luck on Instagram. She didn't have much personal information on her own page, but he had determined that she had had a boyfriend, and that insufferable lout had posted plenty of pictures with Christine.

Erik had been able to use the phrases that people put behind pound signs on that insufferable app to determine Christine's favorite restaurant, for example. So if she accepted his invitation tonight, he knew exactly where he should take her for dinner. And as a bonus, Raoul had recently been putting the phrase 'single life' in the pound sign section of his most recent posts, all of which seemed to consist of him out partying with his friends - which was nice, because while Erik wouldn't have much trouble removing him from Christine's life, it seemed the imbecile had already done it for him.

After the show, once he had given Christine the most well-deserved applause for her brilliant performance, Erik immediately made his way to the side door he knew the performers exited the theater from. Holding Christine's roses firmly, he tried to calm his racing heart as he waited for her to appear, straightening involuntarily when she finally emerged.

As she started to walk toward her car, Erik stepped in front of her, holding the flowers out toward her. Surprise showing plainly in her large blue eyes, she lifted them to Erik in confusion as she accepted his offering, blonde hair curling around her chin adorably. "You did brilliantly tonight, Christine," he told her, seeing her grow even more confused.

"Do I know you?" she asked nervously, and Erik suddenly realized that of course she wouldn't recognize him from the hospital - he was once again wearing his typical full-face mask, instead of the surgical mask he had had on when they had met previously.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Christine. It's me, Erik. You know, from the other day? The hospital?" he reassured her, not wanting to directly mention the car accident. No need to make her uncomfortable with that reminder, after all.

Her lovely face seemed to turn pale, although that could be a trick of the lights in the parking lot, Erik mused. Since she seemed at a loss for words, he continued, "Would you like to have dinner with me?", although he was starting to get the sinking feeling that she was going to reject him - an outcome he probably should have anticipated.

However, the lovely girl in front of him surprised Erik, looking up at him almost pleadingly. "Well, tonight I was going to go out with the rest of the cast…but maybe we could do it tomorrow?"

Unable to believe his good fortune, Erik found himself smiling. "That would be splendid, Christine! Can I pick you up?"

When she nodded hesitantly, he continued. "Wonderful! I already know where you live, so I'll see you tomorrow night," not noticing the involuntary cringe Christine gave at his words, instead marveling at his good fortune as he watched her walk to her vehicle, carrying the roses he had given her.

He had a date with the girl of his dreams - this night couldn't have gone any better if he had scripted it!

xxxxx

The following evening, Christine felt like she might be sick to her stomach as she waited for her 'date' to arrive. She sometimes felt like she was living under some sort of curse - just when she thought life was finally going her way, the man she had accidentally hit with her car was blackmailing her into going on a date with him. Grabbing her can of pepper spray, she placed it in her purse - she might be willing to have dinner with the masked stranger who had shown up at the theater, but she definitely had her limits as to what she would do to avoid being sued.

Just then, a knock sounded at the door to her apartment, and Christine eyed her date up and down as she opened it. He was once again dressed all in black, including a black mask covering most of his face. The only color was provided by the extravagant bouquet of blood-red roses he was holding out to her.

"Oh, um…thanks," she muttered, not sure what to think. Why had he bothered to bring her roses, for the second time in two days, no less? It wasn't like she had had a choice in agreeing to go out with him.

"Shall we go?" he asked, and she nodded, hoping if nothing else that they could get this over with quickly.

Erik took her to her favorite restaurant, one Christine hadn't been to since her breakup with Raoul. Looking at him suspiciously, she almost asked how he knew, but decided to let it go. Maybe it was just a coincidence.

Dinner was, surprisingly, not the ordeal that Christine expected, however. In fact, once they got over some initial shyness, she and Erik had a pleasant enough conversation. It turned out that he was quite knowledgeable about music, and he asked her enough questions about her training and experience that they ended up having plenty to talk about. He even offered to give her free voice lessons whenever she would like, although she didn't know if she would take him up on that offer.

At the end of the night, Erik walked her to her apartment door, and Christine tensed, afraid he might try something physical, but he merely smiled at her, lips curving underneath his mask.

"This was delightful, Christine. Thank you for a lovely evening."

Responding to his politeness, Christine replied, "It was very nice. Thank you for dinner, Erik," surprised to find that her statement wasn't entirely untruthful.

His next words ruined her pleasant feelings, though. "I'm so glad to hear that! Can I see you again? Maybe this weekend?"

xxxxx

The next few months were, unequivocally, the best of Erik's life - although, to be fair, that wasn't saying much. He and Christine went out at least twice a week, and she had even started taking voice lessons from him. He wasn't sure if Christine was his girlfriend, because they never kissed or even held hands, but she was definitely his friend - and he was starting to hope that maybe she liked him enough that they were dating and just taking things slow.

Either way, he was absolutely crazy about her, and he looked forward to spending time with her like he had never looked forward to anything before. It was still so incredible to him that a minor car accident had brought them together. Every day he thanked fate that he had been so lucky as to have had Christine hit him with her car.

xxxxx

"Do you want to go out tonight, Christine? Or do you have plans with your boyfriend?"

Christine rolled her eyes at Meg's teasing question, although it hit closer to home than she was prepared to admit to her best friend. "He's not my boyfriend. But, yes, I am seeing Erik tonight."

Ignoring Meg's knowing smirk, Christine turned away. It was true that Erik wasn't her boyfriend, but sometime over the last several months, she had started to wish he was without even realizing it at first. She still didn't know how they had gone from her dreading going on a date with him to the close relationship they had now.

Starting voice lessons with him hadn't hurt, of course. She and Erik shared a connection through music that she couldn't explain. Her voice was the best it had ever been, and when they sang together, it was a feeling that Christine couldn't describe. Never had she experienced anything like it.

But it wasn't just music between them. She enjoyed the dinners and other quiet dates that Erik took her on immensely, and the conversations they had. She had opened up to Erik more than she ever had anyone else - there was something so comforting in the quiet, non-judgemental way he listened to her that Christine had found herself telling Erik more than she would have ever dreamed, about her father and her grief over his loss, about her struggles to continue her education when everything had seemed hopeless, and even about her failed relationship with Raoul and their attempt to recover their friendship.

She no longer thought Erik was going to sue her over their accident, but lately she had wondered if that was what was holding him back from taking their relationship to another level. Maybe he was hesitating because of the strange dynamic he had created by blackmailing her into a couple dates over the accident, and of course she knew Erik was shy, and self-conscious of his mask. Perhaps it was time for her to take matters into her own hands and let Erik know what she wanted.

xxxxx

After dinner that evening, Erik and Christine returned to his home, where she switched on the TV and patted the seat next to her on the couch. Wordlessly, he sat beside her, enjoying her closeness, especially as she leaned into him to rest her head on his shoulder. Even though this wasn't the first time such a thing had happened, having Christine so close to him still hit like a punch in the gut, and Erik made sure to keep his breathing even as he gingerly put an arm around her.

Once a short amount of time had passed, he noticed Christine had tipped her chin up to look at him.

"Can I ask you something, Erik?" she asked, and he nodded helplessly, enraptured by how beautiful she looked in the dim light of the living room.

"Can I kiss you?"

For a moment Erik thought he must have been dreaming, but he slowly realized that, no, this was actually happening. His darling Christine was looking at him hopefully, already leaning slightly toward him. Unable to resist this level of temptation, he slowly leaned down, feeling a jolt run through his body as their lips finally met in a sweet, gentle kiss.

A few minutes later, he felt her small hands move to the ties of his mask, although she made no move to actually untie it. "Do you think you could take this off?"

Startled, he pulled back from her. "No! Christine, you don't understand. It's too horrible."

Just the slightest hint of a pout crossed her expression, somehow making her even more adorable. "I won't mind, Erik, I promise. And I want to kiss you more, but your mask keeps bumping into me."

Knowing he was making a huge mistake, Erik lowered his head in defeat, not wanting to tell her she certainly wouldn't want to be kissing him any longer once she saw what lay under the mask. He should have known it would come to this one day - she had disarmed him from his intention to sue her just by looking nervous and unsure in the doorway of his hospital room, after all.

Closing his eyes as Christine slowly untied the mask, Erik held his breath, waiting for her inevitable scream of disgust, but to his surprise she merely whispered, "Oh, Erik," before pressing her mouth to his again. Shocked, his eyes flew open and he pulled back.

"Christine," he whispered, at a loss. How could she bear looking at him?

She didn't say anything, instead leaning into him again before wrapping her arms around him and pulling him down for another kiss. Helpless, Erik found himself returning her embrace until the two of them were clinging together on the couch, exchanging the sweetest kisses he could have ever dreamed of.

Several hours later, he walked Christine to her apartment door, basking in the feel of her small hand in his. When she turned to him, clearly wanting another kiss, Erik was more than happy to oblige her, leaning down to meet her as she turned her face up to him. Pulling away after several minutes, she rested her head on his chest, making a sound of contentment when he hesitantly stroked one long-fingered hand over her short golden curls.

"Are you my boyfriend now, Erik?" she asked almost sleepily, and Erik couldn't contain a slight chuckle at how adorable she was.

"I would very much like to be."

"Good, then it's settled." Stifling a yawn, she moved to unlock her door, seeming to laugh a little to herself as a random thought crossed her mind. "I'm really glad you blackmailed me into going out with you, Erik. I wouldn't have said yes to a date with you otherwise."

For a minute, her words didn't register, until suddenly Erik felt a lump of pain and grief settle in his stomach. "What?" he choked out, seeing Christine's suddenly alarmed gaze dart to his own.

"I just meant-"

"I know what you meant, Christine. You only went out with me because you thought I was going to sue you otherwise? How little do you think of me?"

"Erik, no, I'm sorry-"

Jerking away from her, he stalked off without another word, ignoring her attempts to get him to stop, too embarrassed and heartbroken to stand there any longer.

When he reached his vehicle, though, Erik couldn't help but look behind himself, wondering if Christine had followed him to try to explain, but of course she hadn't. There really was no explanation needed, anyway.

It only made sense that she had only agreed to go out with him due to fear of being sued. What in the hell had he been thinking? Of course a beautiful, intelligent, vibrant girl like Christine would never choose to go on a date with a disgusting corpse like him willingly. It was so obvious he found he couldn't even be upset with her. No, the fault was all his for being so stupid as to think an angel like her could ever like someone like him.

xxxxx

Christine checked her phone for what seemed like the millionth time, silently willing the clock to move faster so that the class she was currently struggling to get through would finally end. The only bright spot was that today was one of her days where she finished early, and after this she was free for the rest of the day - free to see if she could salvage the mess of a situation she had created with Erik.

After she realized she had hurt him with her offhand comment about blackmail, she had let Erik leave, thinking he might need some space, but now Christine knew that that had been a mistake. When she had texted him before going to bed to apologize and ask if they could talk today, he hadn't responded - even though Erik normally answered any message from her almost instantly. After a nearly sleepless night of checking her phone, Christine was feeling sick to her stomach as she left for her early class.

Even though she was already running late, she had made a detour to stop at Erik's, hoping to at least see him briefly and ask if they could talk later, but he hadn't answered the door, and after a few minutes she had to give up and go to class.

Finally, the professor stopped talking, and Christine left instantly to drive back to Erik's, only making a detour for a quick stop before once again finding herself knocking on his door. When he didn't answer, she called him, and when that also went unanswered, she texted him, letting him know she had nowhere to be and had no intention of leaving until he at least talked to her.

That seemed to finally do the trick, because a moment later the door opened.

"What do you want, Christine?" Erik asked stonily, before glancing down and seeming to lose his train of thought when he saw the cellophane-wrapped bouquet of flowers she was holding out to him.

"Please, can I come in? I really need to talk to you, Erik."

For a horrible moment, Christine thought he might close the door in her face, but then Erik nodded jerkily and stepped to the side, allowing her into the entryway.

Still clutching the flowers, Christine looked up at him imploringly. "Erik, it's obvious now that we were in different places when you first asked me out, and we can talk about that, but I need you to know that we're in the same place now - or, at least I hope we are.

"Erik, I meant it when I said I want you to be my boyfriend - in fact, I think I've fallen in love with you. Please tell me it's not too late?"

Erik closed his eyes, drawing in a deep breath before opening them again and raising a hesitant hand to her cheek, trailing his fingertips over it lightly before moving to gently stroke over her short curls.

"Never," he whispered, and Christine closed her own eyes briefly in relief as he continued, "As long as you're sure this is what you really want."

"It is," she answered happily, raising her face toward his, but to her surprise Erik left the room suddenly, disappearing into the kitchen.

Just when Christine was wondering if she should follow him, he reappeared, carrying a beautiful vase that he had added water to, setting it on the side table in the entryway before taking the flowers from her and carefully unwrapping them before placing them in the vase.

Feeling a lump in her throat at the way Erik was handling her cheap flowers as though they were a priceless gift, Christine swallowed before speaking.

"Erik, you don't have to do that. They're just silly flowers from the grocery store - not beautiful ones like the roses you get for me."

Turning from the flowers, Erik opened his arms hesitantly, as though he was still afraid to trust that she wanted to be held by him. As Christine quickly disabused him of that notion by wrapping her own arms around him and snuggling into his thin chest, he answered her, "But you bought them for me, Christine. That's all it takes to make them special."

Feeling her heart clench at his words, Christine tilted her face up toward his, hoping Erik would take the hint. "See? When you say sweet things like that, how could you ever doubt that I would fall in love with you?"

"Truly?" Erik whispered, seeming unable to summon any more words as he lowered his head closer to hers. Sensing how hard it was for Erik to believe that this could be happening, Christine reached up and slowly pulled his mask from his face before caressing her hand softly over one of his sunken cheeks.

"Truly," she replied before wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling him down for a kiss, sensing all the love he felt for her in his gentle embrace, as Christine once again marveled at the fact that something so potentially disastrous as their accident had somehow led them to this moment.

She certainly hadn't thought so at the time, but the day she hit Erik with her car had turned out to be the most fortunate one of her life.

A/N: Thanks for reading! Feel free to let me know what you thought!