Full Summary: Christine and Erik have been dating for years without her seeing his face. Four years to be exact. On their anniversary, Erik decides it's finally time for him to show her his face. Unfortunately, Christine is sick and her boss has been overworking her for the last couple of weeks. Exhausted as she is, she doesn't want to ruin their night. What happens when she collapses at the most inopportune moment?
Christine dragged herself out of her car when she finally got off of work, a heavy sigh leaving her lips. She was almost tempted to call Erik and reschedule their plans. But she couldn't. Not tonight. It was usually a special night for both of them, seeing as it was thier anniversary. Not only that but Erik had seemed so nervous about something that he had planned, she didn't want to disappoint him by doing something like this last minute.
She felt like death warmed over, but she'd do anything for her long time boyfriend. She could make it through a few more hours and then she could spend the next two days in bed with no interruptions. Well, she should be able to at the very least. Just as long as Carlotta didn't suddenly go back on her word as she had been doing lately.
She trudged up to her bedroom and gathered the clothing that she wanted to change into for tonight. She'd decided to go with Erik's favorite form fitting red dress. She grabbed a couple accessories as well and headed towards the bathroom. She dumped the pile onto the side of the bathroom sink, turning around to pull a towel out of the closet.
She must've moved a little too quickly because it brought on a tiny bout of dizziness. Thankfully it hadn't lasted too long so she could push that aside. She'd just have to be careful about how quickly she moved. A moderate pace would be best because moving too slowly would bring about the equal amount of concern from her boyfriend.
She undressed and lingered for a few minutes, finding the cool draft in the room rather nice. This wasn't something she was surprised by.
She'd gotten used to the uncomfortably warm feeling ages ago, or at least that was how it felt at this point. She hadn't gone to the hospital because she didn't have the time. Tonight was no exception to that rule.
Christine's shower was definitely not as scalding as it usually was, but she wasn't sure if she could withstand such a thing lately. She'd tried and it had only made her feel even worse. Once she was finished, she hopped out and dried off. She did her best to ensure that her chestnut curls remained presentable. She got dressed and straightened out the material to the best of her abilities.
She pulled on the ruby necklace that Erik had given her on her birthday this year, finishing up the look with make up. She went a little heavier on the blush than she usually would. She just wanted to ensure that she had color to her complexion tonight. Being as pale as she happened to be right now was unfortunately something else that would worry and distract her boyfriend.
By the time she was finished getting ready, she felt like she'd used up whatever remained of her energy. So she decided that she'd just get herself some coffee on the way to Erik's house. She hurried downstairs, clutching the railing a little more tightly than she'd bother doing any other time.
She spotted the cough medicine that she kept on the table and hurried over to it. She opened the bottle and rather than take one of the suggested doses, she swallowed down three or four mouthfuls. She shuddered at the awful after taste, screwing the cap back on as she sat it down once more.
Once she was outside, she hopped into the car and pulled out of the driveway. Rather than go to her favorite place for coffee, she used the one closest. That was how desperate she was for caffeine. Hell, if that wasn't proof enough, she'd opted for straight black instead of French vanilla for once.
From the moment that she walked through his front door, he was the only thing that she could focus on. He'd traded his usual white mask for his black one. It was her favorite of the masks because the darker color caused his gorgeous amber eyes to pop more than usual.
However, she never had the chance to compliment him as he was already complimenting her. Before she could even think to return the sentiment, he was leaning forward to place a delicate kiss against her lips. She was relieved that it was no more than a peck as denying him wasn't something she wanted to do.
The first half of the night made it much, much easier to pretend that everything was alright. She wasn't entirely sure if that was a product of the caffeine in her system or something else. Perhaps it was a mixture and a combination of everything.
Dinner was absolutely delightful, though she could only vaguely taste it. But she didn't need full use of her taste buds to know such a thing. Despite Erik's weight or lack thereof, he was an absolutely brilliant cook. Though she suspected that he put extra effort into it when he knew that he wasn't just cooking for himself for once.
Unfortunately, it became harder to ignore how she felt. She could only assume that the cough medicine was finally wearing off as she had no doubt that the caffeine had wore off hours ago. On top of everything else, she had a pounding headache now as well.
She did her best to hold her eyes open as Erik joined her on the sofa, reaching over to rest on of his hands on her thigh. He rubbed it lightly, almost innocently and it was a soothing gesture.
"Ma Chèrie? I know you're probably ready to go home at this point...but I think it's about time that I show you something first..." Erik's voice was warm and uncertain as he broke the silence, refusing to make eye contact with her.
Christine did her best to shake herself out of her stupor, realizing subconsciously that this was the moment that he was anxious about. She reached out and covered his hand with her own, threading her fingers through his as she gave it a gentle squeeze.
"Alright...but only if you're sure that you want to, Erik. I don't want you to do something just because you think you have to..." She reminded, offering him a weak smile. She tried to ignore the return of the overwhelming warmth. It wasn't something that happened quickly, it felt as if it was building and building.
"I want to.." Erik informed quietly, brushing his thumb across her knuckles. He pulled his hand away from hers slowly, almost reluctantly.
Despite his assurance, he was more than a little hesitant in actually following through. That was understandable, though. From the way that he talked, barely anyone in his past had actually been able to handle looking at him. Even his best friend had needed time to get used to it- not that Erik would be caught dead calling Nadir his best friend. But that was essentially what the other man was to him.
Erik slowly reached up and peeled the mask away from his face, shifting to face her after another bout of hesitation. He looked at her hopefully, his teeth imbedded in his somewhat puffy lower lip.
She couldn't deny that it was a bit startling at first glance, but it changed nothing about how she felt for him. Why would it? She wasn't shallow. Appearances only mattered to a certain extent. She did her best to smile and slowly reached out, cupping one of his cheeks in her hand. She stroked the flesh there and he shuddered, leaning into her hand with his eyes closed.
She opened her mouth to say something, anything to him but she found that she couldn't. She felt her body weakening and her vision beginning to fade. What had started as little black spots were becoming larger and more frequent.
Apparently Erik had noticed that something was off because he had suddenly pulled away, brows furrowed as he gazed at her. He was saying something but she couldn't make out what he was saying. He reached out and grasped her shoulder gently. After that, she knew no more.