A/N: Written for PotO Fluff Week 2022 on Tumblr, hosted by textsfromthefifthbasement. Enjoy!
"Are you sure you don't mind if I leave early?"
Christine lifted her head at Meg's nervous question. "No? I already told you it's fine," she replied, hoping she was keeping the trepidation she was really feeling out of her voice. The last thing she wanted to do was ruin Meg's upcoming vacation by letting her friend know how nervous she was about the next two weeks. Somehow, the run of bad luck she had experienced for the last several years seemed to be continuing lately, as two of the four people who worked in their office would be on vacation for the next two weeks - which wouldn't be so bad, except the person left behind in the office with her seemed to despise her.
"Okay," Meg responded, still lingering by her desk. "I really do feel bad that this dance competition ended up being the same time as Nadir's vacation. If I had known, I wouldn't have told Mom that I would help with it."
"It's really no problem," Christine answered, willing her words to actually be true. "I've been here for over three months now; I know the job pretty well. And," she continued, hating the slightly bitter note she could hear in her voice, "I definitely know not to throw away any of the papers in Erik's office."
"Um, yeah. That was really my fault. I should have warned you about his paperwork right away."
"Well, it all worked out, I guess, since Nadir overruled him about firing me. Anyway, you better get going. I can handle the rest of the day. Friday afternoons are always slow."
"Alright," Meg said, slowly gathering her purse in preparation for heading out into the July heat. "Well, call if you need anything, and I'll see you in two weeks."
"Okay," Christine answered. "Have a nice vacation. I'll be checking Instagram to see what you do in your free time in Vegas."
After the door closed behind Meg, Christine found herself staring blankly at the computer in front of her. With Meg leaving, they had made sure that they were as organized as they could be for her absence, so there was very little for her to do at the moment. And the fact that Nadir was also gone for the next two weeks meant that there would be limited client interaction during that time period. Not surprisingly, most of the clients of Khan & Destler seemed to vastly prefer dealing with Nadir over Erik - a feeling Christine could relate to very well.
In the three months since Meg had helped her get hired on here, Christine had often reflected on how different the two men seemed. They were an odd match as friends and business partners, but the dynamic between them had resulted in a very successful architecture firm. Which had incidentally worked out to Christine's advantage, because around the time she had decided to give up on her music career and move back home, they had made the decision to hire another administrative assistant to help Meg - who, being the loyal friend she was, had immediately told Erik and Nadir that she had the perfect person for the job.
Checking the time, Christine bit back a groan at realizing she had almost an hour left. Even though she had never thought she would have an office job, she had found working here to be a pleasant experience overall, but when she had neither Meg nor Nadir to talk to, things quickly became exponentially more boring.
Reflexively, her eyes darted to the closed office door of her other boss - the one she dearly hoped did not try to come out and talk to her, because it was a given that any conversation between them would be unpleasant. Even though she had been nothing but polite and cooperative, Erik seemed to dislike her a great deal, apparently never having forgiven her for throwing out some important papers of his during her first week on the job.
And that was fine with Christine, mostly. It wasn't as though she really cared if Erik liked her or not, of course, it was just that she wanted to keep this job. It was the perfect opportunity to get back on her feet, and if she ignored Erik's surly attitude - which was normally easy to do as he seemed to avoid her as much as possible - there were many other positive attributes to be found here.
xxxxx
Erik shifted his feet as he stood at the corner of his office window, eyes locked on Christine and Meg through the spot in the blinds that he had coincidentally discovered gave him a clear view of Christine's desk shortly after she started working for him and Nadir. Meg was obviously getting ready to leave and start her vacation, much to his dismay.
The thought of two weeks alone - and of how much more he'd have to communicate directly with her during that time period - with Christine was enough to drive him to despair. When Meg had said she had the perfect person to hire when they had decided to look for an additional assistant, he had mostly been relieved that he wouldn't have to meet with any candidates that Nadir decided to interview, and sure that Meg's friend was just as good as anyone else that might come along.
How wrong he had been about that - Christine certainly wasn't like anyone else that he had ever met. He had felt drawn to her from the moment he met her, even though that feeling was most assuredly one-sided. And the more time they spent in the same space, the more enamored Erik had become of her. She was kind, intelligent, funny, beautiful - and so far out of his league she would no doubt be horrified if she ever learned how he felt about her, which was exactly why he tried to interact with her as little as possible.
After Meg exited the office, he tried returning to his desk to concentrate on some work, but soon enough Erik found himself back at his spot by the window. After several minutes during which Christine seemed to be staring intently at her computer, Erik saw her gaze move to the closed door of his office. Seeing how nervous she looked, Erik impulsively left his office with no idea of what he actually intended to say to her.
Fortunately, Christine spoke first "Hi," she said in a weak tone. "Did you need me to do anything?"
Hating the evidence of how much she dreaded merely having to talk to him, Erik slowly shook his head. What would Nadir do in this situation?
"I just…wanted to tell you that you can leave early as well, if you want to."
"Oh!" she exclaimed. "Are you sure you wouldn't mind? That would be awesome!"
Helplessly entranced by her happy smile, Erik nodded. "I wouldn't mind. You've been working hard, you deserve it."
"Okay, thank you! I'll see you Monday," she added, already gathering her things, leaving Erik to stare after her blankly, practically struck senseless by the effect of Christine turning her sunny smile in his direction.
xxxxx
On Monday morning Erik lasted nearly half an hour after Christine arrived for work before he found himself exiting his office and walking over to her desk, knowing it was foolish but unable to get the image of her smile out of his head. As she looked up at him, a slightly apprehensive look in her eyes, he did his best to channel Nadir once again.
"Did you have a nice weekend, Christine?"
She blinked as though surprised by his question. "I…did," she answered, a smile slowly forming on her face. "Did you?"
"It was fine," he replied truthfully, elated to see her smiling at him once again.
xxxxx
As the week progressed, Erik found himself craving those smiles more and more, and surprisingly, once Christine seemed to get over her fear of him yelling at her for the slightest mistake, she opened up to him amazingly quickly. He told himself that it was probably just her outgoing personality that made her so talkative - it wasn't as though she had any other options at the moment - but Christine seemed to relish their conversations, even seeming to find his dry humor funny, if the rate at which he was able to make her laugh was any indication.
On Thursday, she knocked on his office door. "I thought I might make a Starbucks run. Can I get you anything?" Looking at her in surprise, he hesitated. Erik had no desire to try Starbucks, but the fact that Christine wanted to bring it to him obviously trumped that.
"That would be wonderful. Just a black coffee, I suppose."
Rolling her eyes playfully, she said "Okay," in a teasing tone that let him know what she thought of his propensity for plain coffee, distracting Erik with her cuteness so much that he nearly let her leave without insisting on paying.
"Wait!" he called out, causing her to turn back, brows knitted together in confusion.
Quickly reaching for his wallet, Erik pulled out some money before she could decide that he was yelling at her once again. "I insist," he said, holding it out to her.
"You don't have to pay, Erik. It was my idea."
"I want to," he said stubbornly, and Christine seemed to realize this wasn't an argument she was going to win.
"Alright. But, you're going to let me get you back sometime."
"Agreed," he acquiesced, not knowing that she would be following through on that the very next day.
xxxxx
The next afternoon, Erik had once again found himself at Christine's desk as she prepared to leave for the day.
"Do you have any plans for the weekend, Erik?"
"Not really," he replied. "I rarely do anything on the weekends." Other than sit around and fantasize about Christine, but it didn't seem prudent to mention that. "What about you?"
"Nothing major. I'll probably go to the farmers' market tomorrow, I guess. I might go to the new Thor movie tonight - actually, why don't you come with me? There's a showing in half an hour at the theater near here."
Stunned, Erik gaped at her. "A movie? I don't know, Christine…"
Seeming to sense victory, she pressed, "Please, Erik? It can be my treat, since you bought the coffee yesterday."
Unable to believe he was agreeing to this, he nodded slowly. "Very well, I can't say no to that."
As Christine gave him a beaming smile before starting to gather her things, Erik drew a deep breath. It was imperative that he remember Christine only saw him as a friend, because with the way she was looking at him it could be easy to become lost in the fantasy that she could ever see him as more than that.
xxxxx
Christine reminded herself to take a deep breath as she and Erik exited the office into the summer heat outside. Stealing a glance up at him, she tried to calm her nerves, which were understandably racing after having just impulsively asked her boss out on a date. It also wasn't helping those nerves that he had changed out of the black mask he normally wore in the office to the facial prosthetic he sometimes wore when he had to meet with clients face to face. She wanted him to wear whatever made him feel the most comfortable, of course, but she had grown so used to him in the mask that the change was a little disconcerting.
However, as they chatted on their way to the movie, Christine was reminded that it didn't really matter what mask he was wearing - Erik was Erik, the man she had finally admitted to herself that she was falling for, as unbelievable as that statement would have been just a week ago.
To her surprise, Erik didn't put up a fuss when she paid for the movie tickets, although he had a counter move waiting for her after they exited the movie theater.
Throwing caution to the wind as they stepped out into the evening sunlight, Christine asked "Do you want to get something to eat? It's still early."
"That sounds nice. But, only if you let me pay."
xxxxx
After lingering in the restaurant, Erik walked her back to the parking garage adjacent to their office, both of them hesitating when they reached her vehicle.
"This was really fun. I had a great time," Christine said finally, breaking the silence before it became too awkward.
"Me too," Erik answered, taking a step back. "Have a good night."
"You too," she replied, about to turn and reach for her car door, before suddenly finding herself in Erik's arms, their lips meeting in a kiss that started out hesitant, but quickly became deeper as she reached her arms around his neck, pulling him down toward her as he pushed her back against the car.
After what she could only assume was a long period of time, Erik drew back from her suddenly, gasping for breath. Smiling, Christine tried to calm her own breathing as she looked up at him, but he refused to meet her gaze, mumbling something about needing to get home to feed his cat before quickly stalking off to his own vehicle.
Slowly entering her car, Christine locked the doors before letting her forehead rest on the steering wheel for a few moments. What on earth had she been thinking, making out with her boss in a public parking garage? And obviously Erik hadn't been impressed by her behavior, judging from the flimsy excuse he'd made to leave. In the three months she'd known him, he'd made no mention of owning a cat; if she found out he'd lied about having one just to get away from her Christine thought she might die of embarrassment when she had to face him on Monday morning.
xxxxx
As Christine wandered aimlessly around the farmers' market the following morning, she couldn't stop replaying the events of the night before in her mind, wondering how it had gone so wrong at the end after such a wonderful night, but she came up with no answers. Just as she was about to give up and return home, however, she noticed a tall, thin figure dressed in black towering over the crowd a short distance ahead of her. Telling herself that the last place Erik was likely to be was a farmers' market, she nonetheless found herself closing the distance between them, only to have her unlikely suspicion confirmed when she drew up next to him.
"Erik!" she exclaimed without thinking, unable to reconcile the idea of him in such a wholesome setting. "I didn't know you ever came to the farmers' market," she added lamely, wondering if he was about to invent another pet to try to get away from her.
"Oh, sure. Sometimes," he responded, sounding about as certain as she did.
"Really?" Christine asked doubtfully, still uncertain what to make of this entire situation as people flowed past them on either side.
After hesitating a long moment at her question, Erik's shoulders slumped before he spoke. "Well, no, actually. I came here hoping to see you. I wanted to talk about last night."
Christine's heart leapt at his words, but she warned herself to be cautious. "Oh, really? What about last night?"
Dropping his gaze, he replied, "I wanted to apologize for leaving so quickly. I suppose I just got nervous."
Smiling, she reassured him, "That's okay. I was nervous, too, but more so afterward. I…was afraid you didn't like kissing me."
"No! It was wonderful! I was just afraid you wouldn't feel the same way."
Throwing caution to the wind, Christine reached for his hand. "Well, I do, so I guess we were both worried for nothing," happily noting Erik's nod and slight smile at her words.
"Want to walk around for a while with me?" she asked, already leading him off as he followed her willingly.
Feeling much more energetic now that she knew that she and Erik were on the same page about the night before, Christine led him to several of her favorite stands, purchasing some fresh vegetables and a few treats as well, only to see Erik looking at her inquiringly when she announced that she was done shopping.
"I was wondering, Christine…"
"Yes?"
"Would you like to come over to my apartment for lunch? I'd be happy to cook."
For a moment she simply stared at him, surprised by his offer. It was hard to imagine Erik as much of a cook, considering his gaunt frame and the fact that he seemed to eat remarkably little the few times they had eaten together, including the night before. However, Christine was thrilled by the fact that he wanted to spend more time with her, so she could doubtlessly manage to choke down whatever food he might prepare.
"I'd love to!"
xxxxx
Wondering if he was dreaming, Erik stole another glance at Christine as she walked beside him on the way to his vehicle, her small hand still clasped in his. Never in his wildest dreams had he thought he would someday get a chance to spend time with her like this, but even he couldn't deny the fact she had certainly seemed happy to see him this morning.
He also couldn't believe that he'd been brave enough to ask her to come over to his apartment for lunch. As soon as the words left his mouth, he had expected her to reject him, but instead she had thrilled him with how happy she had seemed at his invitation.
After they arrived at his apartment, they dropped Christine's purchases off in the kitchen before he gave her a quick tour.
"Your place is really nice," she commented as they returned to the kitchen area, only to become distracted by the small dishes of cat food and water on the floor. "Oh! You do have a cat!"
Wondering why she seemed so surprised, Erik nodded. "Yes, Ayesha. Let me see if I can find her. She's probably hiding."
Fortunately, he located the cream-colored cat in her favorite hiding place under his bed, and quickly returned to the kitchen, holding her so Christine could pet her.
"She's really lovely," Christine said admiringly, gently stroking the cat's soft fur. "Is she a purebred?"
"I don't know," he replied. "I found her on the street as a kitten one night. I thought I would take her to the shelter in the morning, but she obviously wanted to stay here, so…I let her."
As Christine petted Erik's beautiful cat - which she was delighted to have discovered actually existed - she snuck a glance up at him, noticing the loving way he was looking at his pet. Feeling her heart soften toward him further, she realized even more how much she had misjudged him when she had dismissed him as a cold, uncaring jerk up until this past week.
And she soon discovered something else about Erik - he was actually a very good cook. He prepared them a simple but perfectly flavored lunch of chicken, along with a variety of the fresh vegetables they had purchased earlier, although Christine noticed he once again ate sparingly himself.
"That was wonderful," she complimented him after finishing her meal. "I had no idea you could cook like that, Erik."
"Thank you," he replied. "I quite enjoy cooking, actually."
As they picked up the dishes and then moved to the living room, Christine decided his words made sense. Cooking could be an art form, after all, and she knew Erik was certainly a multi-talented artist, she reflected as Ayesha jumped up on the couch with them, distracting her from her thoughts.
Noticing Erik seemed a little stiff, Christine wondered if he was nervous now that they'd eaten. "Do you want to watch a movie or something?" she asked, hoping she wasn't overstaying her welcome, but Erik seemed happy at her question.
"I would, very much. I just wondered if you had other plans?"
"No, none," she told him. "I'm free all weekend."
xxxxx
The next week passed in a blur, with Christine spending what was probably far too much of her time at work talking and laughing with Erik, although fortunately their workload was once again lighter than normal with Nadir being out of the office. Somehow, time with him seemed to simply fly, and before she knew it it was Friday afternoon again, the last day before Meg and Nadir both returned on Monday.
Hiding a smile as Erik walked out of his office and strolled over to her desk, Christine wrapped up the document she was typing before looking up at him.
"What's up?"
"Nothing," he answered. "I just missed you."
Blushing, she tilted her face toward his, giggling when he took the hint, leaning down to brush his lips against hers.
"It's almost time to go," Erik said, sounding just slightly unsure of himself. "Do you want to come over tonight?"
"I do," she answered, smiling up at him, helplessly charmed by the uncertainty in his tone - which seemed unnecessary considering they had spent nearly every evening together during the week.
After Erik locked the door behind them a short time later, Christine took his hand as they walked to his car, loving the gentle squeeze he gave it as she did so. It was hard to believe that this was the same man she had thought was an uncaring monster just a few short weeks ago, presuming that he only cared about himself, music, and architecture, although she now knew how wrong she had been.
The truth was, the more she got to know Erik, the more she came to admire him. He was a bit unusual, certainly, but that didn't bother Christine - she had always been on the unusual side herself, although admittedly maybe not to Erik's level. And there was no denying the way he made her feel when she was with him. She had already told him more about her life than she would have ever thought she would tell anyone, and no matter the topic - whether it was her father's illness and subsequent death or her painful breakup with Raoul - Erik seemed to understand and listen, and never judge her.
She had even opened up to him about losing all interest in singing after her father's death, and although he hadn't pressured her in any way, Erik had offered to give her lessons if she ever wanted to start again. Christine knew she wasn't ready yet, but when she thought about singing with Erik's support, she thought maybe she would be one day.
It did bother Christine slightly that he seemed to have more trouble opening up to her than she did to him, but she could tell he was trying. She had the sneaking suspicion that Erik's life had not been an easy one, but she felt with time he would be able to share more of his past with her. Really, she thought as they arrived at Erik's apartment and greeted Ayesha, her only true concern was what it might do to their fledgling relationship to have to deal with Meg and Nadir being back in the office once again - and what they might think of the two of them being together.
xxxxx
On Monday, Christine arrived at the office only to find Meg already there. Glancing at the closed door to Erik's office, she greeted her friend, settling in at her desk before asking Meg for a full recap of her time off.
During the middle of Meg's story, Christine found herself holding her breath when she heard Erik's office door open. Although they had agreed over the weekend that they would keep their new relationship to themselves for a short time yet, she wondered if they would be able to actually pull that off.
However, it turned out she had nothing to worry about so far, because Erik didn't so much as glance at her as he walked over to hand some documents to Meg before continuing into Nadir's office and shutting the door behind himself.
"Was it very bad when I was gone?" Meg asked, distracting Christine from her thoughts.
"What's that? Oh, no, it wasn't too bad," she answered somewhat lamely. "What else did you do in Vegas?"
Having distracted Meg again, Christine tried to focus on her friend's story and not on the unpleasant worry that Erik was ignoring her, but when he left Nadir's office and returned to his own without glancing in her direction once again, Christine couldn't help her thoughts.
What if Erik had only been toying with her to pass the time these last two weeks? Although it seemed a little soon to panic, the way he had reverted to treating her as if she didn't exist the instant Meg and Nadir came back to work was bringing up all the insecurity and nervousness she had felt before - except magnified, because she actually cared about him as a person now.
Suddenly, Erik's voice came across her intercom. "Christine, can you come in here?"
"Um, sure," she answered, seeing Meg's sympathetic look as she rose from her desk, wondering if Erik was calling her into his office to end things between them.
Her heart dropped further when she entered the room and saw him standing in front of his desk, arms crossed over his chest, and the words he spoke didn't help matters, either.
"Close the door, please."
Wondering if she was about to be dumped or fired - or both - Christine turned to close the door, only to gasp when she turned once again to find that Erik had somehow crossed the room in the brief period of time when she wasn't looking. Pushing her back against the door, he leaned down so his face was close to hers.
Heart racing, she asked hesitantly, "Is…is everything okay?"
With a light she had come to recognize burning in his golden eyes, Erik slowly closed the remaining distance between their mouths, whispering, "It is now," just before pressing his lips to hers.
Relieved, Christine enthusiastically returned his kiss, and soon they were clinging together, pressed up against one another as their embrace grew wilder, until Erik finally drew back, pressing his masked forehead against hers as they both tried to catch their breath.
After a few minutes, Christine broke the silence. "I have to admit, I was wondering if you changed your mind about us or something, the way you were ignoring me."
Erik straightened at her words, meeting her eyes. "No! Definitely not, Christine. I'm still crazy about you, I just didn't want to be too obvious in front of Meg, since we agreed not to tell either of them for a while. You…haven't changed your mind, have you?"
Rolling her eyes playfully at him, Christine squeezed her arms around his narrow waist. "No, you silly man," seeing his eyes narrow at her teasing but knowing he wasn't truly offended. "I am also still crazy about you," she continued before pulling him down for another kiss, breaking off to add, "But, I think we might have to tell Nadir and Meg sooner than we thought," giggling at Erik's moan of agreement as their lips met once again.
xxxxx
As Christine followed Meg out of the restaurant, she couldn't help but notice that it was already getting dark outside, even though it wasn't that late in the evening yet. Even though the weather remained warm, it was obvious that fall was on the horizon.
"I'm so glad we did this," Meg commented. "I know we talk a lot at work, but it's just good to have time like this to hang out."
Christine murmured her agreement as they started walking the several blocks back to their work building. Meg had impulsively suggested that they get dinner after work, and Christine had been more than happy to have some time to catch up out of the office - especially since her two months long relationship with Erik had been one of their main topics. One of the downfalls of dating someone who worked with you was the fact that it was somewhat awkward to discuss them with your friend while you were at work, she supposed.
However, that was one of the only drawbacks that she'd discovered about dating Erik - maybe the only one, now that she thought about it.
When they reached their building, Meg turned off into the parking garage, looking back at Christine inquiringly when she didn't follow.
"I have to go all the way up to the office," she reminded Meg, still on the sidewalk. "Remember, I told you I forgot my phone on my desk."
"Oh, that's right," Meg answered, giving Christine a quick hug. Walking away, she added teasingly, "I suppose you need it to call your boyfriend."
Shaking her head at her friend's sense of humor, Christine took the elevator up to their office floor, realizing as she opened the door that Erik must still be working, if the music coming from his office was any indication.
Smiling, she dropped her purse on one of the chairs in the client waiting area, eager to surprise him and tease him about working too much when she wasn't around, but the words died on her lips when she reached the doorway of his office, leaving her standing with her mouth hanging open in shock as Erik's equally surprised gaze met hers as she took in the sight of his unmasked face for the first time.
For a moment that seemed to go on forever, neither of them moved, until suddenly Erik's hand shot forward toward his mask where it lay on the desk in front of him, but his customary grace seemed to have escaped him, and he instead knocked it off the front of his desk, out of reach.
Just as she realized she was gaping at him, he slapped one hand over his face before yelling, "Get out," as he stood and swiped the pile of papers that had been sitting at his elbow onto the floor.
When Erik took a step as though he was going to come around the desk, Christine reacted without thinking, turning and bolting for the door, wanting to get away from his anger as quickly as she could. It wasn't until she had turned the doorknob and stepped into the hallway that she realized what she was doing.
While Erik had been in the wrong to yell at her like that, if she ran away now, he might always think she was fleeing because of what he looked like. Christine didn't intend to excuse his behavior away, but she also didn't want to cause irreparable damage to their relationship. Erik wasn't perfect - no more than she was - but what they had together was too good to simply throw away over a misunderstanding.
Returning to his office, she was surprised to find Erik collapsed on the floor next to his fallen mask, helplessly sobbing as he covered his face with his hands. Cautiously, she crossed the room to him, gently putting her hand on his shoulder.
Jerking his head up in surprise at her touch, he met her eyes for a moment before dropping his head. "Oh, did you come back to look at the freak?" he asked her bitterly, but now that his anger had faded, Christine could recognize the self-loathing in his voice. What had Erik been through to make him react like this just to her having seen his face? Although she wasn't sure that she truly wanted to know; whatever had driven the intelligent, capable, caring man she had come to know over these last few months to these depths doubtlessly had to be something terrible.
Instinctively, Christine knelt on the floor next to him, wrapping her arms around him, resisting when he tried half-heartedly to pull away from her. After Erik relaxed into her hold, Christine impulsively started humming, gently running her hands over his back before pressing a soft kiss to his forehead, trying to let him know without words that she didn't intend to go anywhere.
xxxxx
After Christine turned and fled from him in horror, Erik rounded his desk, intending to pick up his mask, but instead the grief of her rejection overcame him as he knelt down, and he found himself on the floor, curling into himself as the pain of losing Christine washed over him.
He had always known that she wouldn't stay with him forever, but he had selfishly craved more time with her than this. Her presence had been a light onto his bleak existence, and Erik knew that he wasn't ready to face a world without her once again. After having had her in his life, going back to the cold, sterile existence of his past seemed unthinkable.
Suddenly, he was broken out of his reverie by her return, and Erik found himself snapping at her once again, knowing he was desperately trying to protect the last shreds of his heart but unable to stop himself. However, Christine seemed to ignore him, inexplicably taking him into her arms and holding him.
After trying feebly to pull away from her, Erik acquiesced and simply let her hold him, trying to take in these last moments with Christine, but after a while his guilt overcame him, both over how he had spoken to her and the fact that he was taking advantage of her sweet nature by letting her comfort him.
"I'm sorry," he choked out, wanting to get his apology out before Christine left his life entirely. "I'm sorry I yelled at you."
Her arms tightened around him before she spoke. "I won't say it didn't scare me, but I forgive you, Erik."
Humbled even further by the grace she was showing him, Erik knew he had to let her go. "Christine, I want you to know how much this means to me, but it's alright if you go. You've already done much more than someone like me deserves."
"Go?" she asked, pulling back slightly to look at his face, somehow managing to do it and not cringe away from him. "I don't want to go."
"It's okay," he told her again, but she stubbornly shook her head.
"Erik, I'm not here because I pity you or anything like that, if that's what you're thinking."
She obviously took his silence as agreement with her statement, because Christine frowned at him slightly before continuing, "I'm here because I want to make sure you know how sorry I am that I hurt your feelings by running away from you. Obviously we both made mistakes tonight, but I know that staring and then running away is not the way I want to treat my boyfriend."
"Boyfriend? You still want me to be your boyfriend?" Erik asked dumbly, unable to contain the hope he felt stirring within him. "Even after I yelled at you like that? Even after seeing what I…look like?"
"Of course I do. I just hope that you can forgive me for my reaction, just like I forgave you for the yelling."
"Oh, Christine," he said, hesitantly raising a hand to lightly brush his fingertips over her cheek. "There's nothing for me to forgive. Although, just so you know, I'm sure I'd forgive you for much worse."
She let out a tearful giggle at his words. "Erik, I love you so much," she said, and leaned forward to kiss him, leaving him so shocked that it took him several moments to respond, finally wrapping his arms around her as well and returning her kiss.
After a kiss that went on and on, Erik eventually pulled back enough to ask, "Do you mean it, Christine?"
Reaching out, she caressed his cheek in return before replying. "Absolutely I do."
Feeling a smile he couldn't control cross his face at her words, Erik leaned in to kiss her again, whispering, "I love you, too, Christine," just before their lips met in another fiery kiss. And as they held each other, occasionally breaking the kiss to whisper words of love to one another, the last barrier between them gone, they both knew they were exactly where they were meant to be.
A/N: This was a fun one to write! Thanks very much for reading, and please feel free to let me know what you thought!