Disclaimer: I do not own PhofOp.

An Unintentional Plea

It took a week for Christine to break and go see Erik. Throughout the past few days it had been agony knowing that she couldn't go near her human mate. The thing about being a creature was that, to a certain extent, they had to obey their mate's wishes. That included the worse one of all, when the human no longer wanted to be with them.

The times that occurred, Christine knew that they were supposed to be feeling an intense emptiness along with the pull to get closer. It wasn't at all pleasant from what Christine has heard and read.

However, what Christine felt wasn't like that.

She felt the pull as she always did, it might have even become more insistent since Erik told them to never visit him again. Yet, she did not feel the void that was often used to describe feeling the rejection of a mate. She had talked to Raoul about it a couple days after the event and Raoul told her that he was experiencing the same thing.

That made Christine curious and she spent her free time going through her father's journal, hoping to find an explanation. Much to her disappointment, she had been unable to find anything that could help. The journal only spoke about times with the pull and times with the rejection of a mate. Because of this, Christine eventually ignored Erik's order that they stay away and had gone to the shop.

She wasn't going to talk to him or make him otherwise aware of her presence, she only wished to see him, even if it was through a window for a few minutes.

Christine had arrived at the shop and immediately spotted Raoul crouching against the wall underneath the shop's window. She got closer, and he glanced up at her, a pout filled with longing on his lips. She knew the feeling. The pull was insisting that the two of them go to Erik, but they couldn't. Not against Erik's wishes.

She crouched next to Raoul and leaned her weight against him, which he returned.

"How long have you been here?" she asked, listening to Erik move inside his shop but gazing at the street in front of them.

"Since he opened." Raoul mumbled back.

It was almost time for Erik to close his shop, meaning that Raoul had been there all day.

Raoul continued, shifting sheepishly. He went from a crouch to sit on the ground, his legs spread out in front of him. "I've actually been visiting the past couple days. You sure held out longer than I did."

"Unlike you, I have previous experience with the pull." Christine replied softly, moving to sit like he was. She was not trying to berate him, it was a simple fact.

Raoul must have understood her intent because he snorted. "Yeah, I know, but it's not like I ever told you to leave me alone. You basically had my heart the moment we met."

If Christine could still blush she would have, instead, she rested her head on his shoulder. "And you had mine."

They sat there for a while, listening to Erik move around in his shop, doing what needed to be done. The pull had lessoned since Christine was close to him, but it wouldn't go away completely. Not unless she was closer, not unless she was right by his side close enough that they breathed the same air. And even that couldn't lesson the pull as much a touch would, however brief.

After it was time for the shop to close, Christine could feel Erik get closer but she didn't move from her spot. If Erik came out, she and Raoul would be able to run and hide themselves before Erik would notice that they were there. He didn't come out, Erik flipped the open sign to close and went deeper into the shop. Christine was curious and straightened from her spot against Raoul to peak into the window. She saw Erik heading towards one of the pianos, the one that he often used when he felt like playing.

He placed his hand on the cover and used it to sit down on the bench in front of piano. Erik lifted the cover and lightly placed his hands on the ends of the keys before sliding his hands where he wanted them to be. He paused for a moment, then began to play.

Christine took a sharp intake of air through her nose. The music being played struck a chord in her that jerked her to a standing position, Raoul doing the same next to her. Christine gapped at Erik playing inside, the music inaudible to anyone outside their level of hearing, but it rang in her ears and undead heart.

"Our song!" Raoul breathe out next to her, confirming her thoughts.

When mates meet, there is a song that plays in their heads, further proof that they were meant for each other. They were called the Soul Song. Every pair had a different song, Raoul and Christine had theirs and yet, there Erik was inside his shop playing it, having never heard of them mentioning it. Most of the time, these songs were never created into a physical format, only playing themselves in the pairs heads. Christine had always heard the melody but it had never been anything concrete as soul songs were. They were meant to connect being with mate and that was the furthest it was usually used for.

Of course, Erik being a composer, would find a way to create their song into a piece of work. It was further proof that he was theirs.

As she watched from behind a window that seemed to be acting as a barrier, Erik continued to play, his hands moving gracefully over the keys, delicately pressing them down to get the sound he wanted.

Say you'll share with me one love, one lifetime
Lead me, save me from my solitude
Say you want me with you here beside you

Christine's breath caught in her lungs and heard it happen to Raoul beside her. They had never heard Erik sing before and she regretted having never asked him. It was the most enchanting thing Christine has ever heard. Like a siren that hypnotized her in one spot, making her unable to move, not that she would want to. A voice that was currently soft and smooth like velvet that washed over her.

Without meaning to, Christine placed her hand on the window as if she could make it disappear by sheer will, the urge to get closer stronger than it had ever been. The soul song had words, but they were always nonconcrete like the rest of the song. But listening to Erik sing, Christine had no doubt in her mind that those were the correct words for Erik's part.

Suddenly everything clicked into place at once.

"He wants us." Christine gasped, her hand breaking away from the window but stayed closed enough to touch. "That's why we can come near him! He didn't completely reject us! There's a part of him that didn't mean what he said!"

"Why would he do that than?" Raoul whispered, hurt in his tone at the thought, but a trace of awe as well from Erik's playing.

Christine shook her head, her curls flying from side to side. "I don't know, but I think we should find out."

It was hard leaving Erik in the shop without talking to him, but Christine knew that she and Raoul needed information first before they confronted him. Christine took Raoul's hand in hers and gently pulled him away from the window. He did it reluctantly but she knew that he knew that they couldn't speak to Erik just yet. Plus, they needed to get their information before Erik got home, which left limited time.

They quickly made their way to Erik's apartment. Christine was relieved to see that Mr. Khan's car was already parked in its spot, telling them that the old cop was home.

Raoul was the one to knock on the door and Mr. Khan answered it soon after.

As soon as he caught sight of who they were, he visibly tensed.

"What are you two—?"

"Hush." Christine commanded firmly, making eye contact with him.

Mr. Khan's body instantly relaxed from its stiff stance, his hand that had been clenching the doorknob rested lightly on it. His eyes taking on the glazed look of someone being compelled. It wasn't ideal for either of them to be doing this to one of Erik's friends, but it was the best way they could get answers. They couldn't and wouldn't be able to do it to Erik, because he was blind, so they had to go to the next best person.

"You're a close friend of Erik's, probably know a lot more about him than we do." Christine began, taking a step forward and not breaking eye contact. "When he told us to not come around anymore, we respected that, but something seems off to me, like he didn't want to do it. Tell me, why would he suddenly tell us to leave him alone?"

"Because, Antoinette and I asked him to." Mr. Khan answered in an emotionless tone, his eyes unblinking.

Christine blinked in surprise. She had not expected that, though she shouldn't be too surprise. She knew that the three of them were close, but for Erik to cut ties with them because his friends asked him too?

"Why would you do that?" she asked softly.

"You're dangerous." Mr. Khan replied indifferently.

Raoul hummed behind her. "Explain."

"Something is not right about the two of you." Mr. Khan continued monotone. "Erik might not see it, but we can. We did not want him to get hurt."

That made Christine pause. All of this was because Erik had friends that were concerned for him. Christine couldn't find it in herself to be angry at that, there were too few people that truly cared for each other and Erik had two. Even if it had caused them problems, Christine could understand the reasons behind their actions.

"Thank you." Christine whispered. "But you do not have to worry about us hurting him. He is the safest person alive that could be around us. There is no need to worry."

"I will always worry about him." Mr. Khan countered simply and the dead tone didn't take away the sincerity in the statement.

Christine smiled. "You will not remember this conversation. You will go inside and count to five, once that is done, you'll be released and go about whatever you were doing."

Mr. Khan nodded and stepped back into his apartment. The door shut and Christine and Raoul made their way back to their apartment. They were silent the way back, both lost in their thoughts from the new information they had gathered.

Christine entered the apartment first and turned to Raoul as he closed the door behind them.

"I know you have to go to work, but we'll talk about this when you get back?" Christine offered.

Raoul gave her a tired grin and came to her. He briefly pressed his lips to her forehead, causing her to close her eyes and lean towards him. He pulled back.

"I don't want you staying up for me. Go to bed, we'll talk in the morning. We'll figure this out Christine."

Christine nodded and Raoul left the living room to get ready. She went to the couch and sat down, thinking about what they had learned.

Mr. Khan and Mme. Giry were the reason why Erik had told them to leave him alone. Christine understood the reason, but knowing that, they were going to have to convince Erik that they weren't dangerous. Well, not to him in any case. Christine could see why Mme. Giry and Mr. Khan had been wary of them, the two could sense that they were predators because they didn't have the protection a mate had like Erik. Christine and Raoul would never harm anyone that Erik cared about, but the two of them hadn't known that, they had gone off their instincts, which in itself was a good thing.

Erik knew their soul song. He had been able to make it into a solid form that could be heard by others. Christine had never doubted that Erik was theirs since they had met, but if there had been, the song would have erased any of it.

Christine began to hum the music she had heard earlier, not having been able to do so before. Erik's voice coming back to her as he sung the part meant for him, calling out for her to go to him, like a plea.

She will go to him. They both would.

Sooo…please don't hate me? I'm sorry I haven't updated in a while. I haven't had access to a computer these past three weeks and I sort of forgot that I was to update this that first weekend. My bad. But that aside, I hope you enjoyed this chapter and will leave a review if you did. Next chapter will be in MEG's POV!

And if you're interested, the link below is what Erik is playing on the piano. :) See ya next time!

watch?v=RjwTm1EFjhk "All I Ask of You" - from Phantom of the Opera - (piano solo)