Disclaimer: Please don't sue. I don't own POTO... All I own is an overactive imagination.
Summary: ErikRaoul slash fic.
Warning(s): homosexual content, slash!
Pairing(s): ErikRaoul
A/N: SOOO Sorry… I know, I know, I haven't written for more than a week. It's been pretty bad lately. I live in Los Angeles so that black out didn't really help me any case, but beyond that I have no excuse.
Okay, this should be longer because I've had a week to work on it… technically more than a week. Hope you guys like it… House, MD season 2 starts!
You guys are really impatient to find out what's in that letter… come on, a little mystery is fun. I really am picking on Raoul though. I can't seem to help myself. As for Christine, one day, maybe one day I'll write her as a likeable character, but for now, I'm really annoyed with her.
o.o.o.o
Pass Time: Falling: Physically o-
o.o.o.o
By: Lucifer Rosemaunt
o.o.o.o
Last Time: Christine burns Raoul's house down! Well, technically we don't know what quite happened there, but Raoul's house is on fire, we all know it's really Christine's fault anyway. Erik's rushing to the house, but he's still not close enough. Madame Giry knows what has happened and is waiting at the Opera House.
o.o.o.o
-.-
Erik ran faster, feeling the urgency of the situation. He was annoyed that he chose to take the path through the woods. It was slowing him down. He was reaching the point to where it no longer mattered who was able to see him. He just wanted to be at the house already and be with Raoul.
He cursed Raoul for having such a large estate and cursed his own stupidity for choosing the slower path. He redirected his path so that he could hit the driveway and be free of all the trees and shrubbery. Running just adjacent to the woods, he was able to see a figure running in the other direction.
He almost stopped dead in his tracks when he recognized it was Christine, but forced himself to deal with her later. He knew where she lived, and he had to make sure Raoul was okay, or at least alive. Her life depended on how the next moments of Erik's and Raoul's life together played out.
o.o.o.o
In the coldest voice Raoul could muster through his embarrassment and sadness, he replied, "Mademoiselle, I believe that you are the monster. You must be delusional since I have not done anything to you. Take your insane accusations and never step onto my estate again, whether or not I am on it. Good night."
Christine had turned her back to him. She pulled the coat tighter around her shoulders and rather calmly walked to pick up her lantern. She felt anger build within her. Raoul had no right to speak to her in such a manner. He had been her fiancé for crying out loud. He was supposed to love her until their dying day. Instead, he insults her and kicks her off his property.
Her hands clenched unconsciously and it was only then that she realized she held the lantern in her hands. With a scream, she threw the lantern at Raoul with all her strength.
Raoul barely dodged the lantern that flew at his head. He threw himself on the floor just to avoid getting hit.
She was momentarily disappointed that she had missed and shocked that she had actually thrown the thing. She stared in dumb horror however when she saw flames rise up behind Raoul's prone body. Her limbs no longer listened to her. She knew she had to do something. She had to help put the fire out. The lantern she had thrown was the cause of it, and she needed to remedy it.
Raoul had quickly gotten up and opened his mouth to say something to her, but seeing her expression, he turned around to see the little candle have rolled out of the lantern and onto the curtain quickly setting it aflame. He looked around frantically for anything to put it out. There was no water in the room, so he reached over and flung over the part of the curtain that was not aflame to try and smother it.
However, it was too late. The fire wasn't dying, instead it was burning stronger. He turned around to tell Christine to get some water, only to have his eyes fall upon empty space.
Christine finally made her limbs listen to her, and she fled. She didn't want to be stuck in the Vicomte's house when it burned down. Christine no longer cared if she started it, Raoul would never be able to put it out. His futile attempt had assured her of that fact, and if it was all pointless, she had no reason to linger.
Turning, she ran as quickly as she could out of the house and down the driveway. So intent was she in fleeing, she failed to notice the black shadow that was running the opposite direction. Her mind was racing and yet surprisingly numb at the same time. All her thoughts told her to save herself, but it refused to let her remember from what she was fleeing.
She left his estate and faltered since she had told her carriage to leave. A sound from her left caught her attention. A horse! Without bothering to wonder why a horse would be randomly tethered outside the Chagny estate, she climbed atop and rode to the opera house as quickly as the horse would allow.
Once in front of the opera house, her adrenaline finally faded. She lowered herself to the ground and looked around rather confusedly. Bringing her hand to her mouth, she suppressed the scream that threatened to be loosened from her throat. The truth became clear: she had burned down the Chagny household. She had burned it and left Raoul to fend for himself.
The horse wandered off.
Christine, not knowing what else to do, quietly entered the opera house and went towards her room. She stopped in front of the door. The rats would be inside waiting for her. Tears fell unnoticed down her face. She didn't know why she was crying. She only knew that everything had turned out so badly. Everything was so wrong.
She decided to not sleep in her own room that night, instead, she made her way to the chorus girls' dormitory. It would bring some comfort to her considering she had grown up in the dormitory. She slipped unobserved into the room and buried herself under the blankets of the vacant bed. She was frightened and worried, but her body could not take the stress any longer.
She fell asleep in hopes that she was already dreaming.
Raoul stared at the empty space only for a moment longer before turning back to the fire. The curtain was full ablaze and the fire was racing towards the furniture. The rug beneath his feet was threatening to catch fire soon. He tried in vain to stomp it out. There was nothing else to do. If he left to find water, the flame would have spread too much. In fact, he was starting to believe it was already too late.
He fell back when a piece of the curtain flew out and burned his arm. Clutching his arm to his chest on the floor, he tried to crawl away from the flame but his left pajama pant leg caught fire. Having no other recourse, he frantically used his hands to swat at the flames. He screamed in pain. He could feel his leg burning. He could feel the fire lick at his skin and muscle. He screamed louder.
Suddenly hands pulled him further from the flames and water was thrown on his leg.
Raoul turned around in appreciation. His vision blurred for a moment before seeing the familiar face of his butler (you thought it was going to be Erik, huh?). He saw that the other staff members except one were awake and trying put the fire out. It was still contained in the sitting room, so there had to be hope yet. Raoul tried to pull himself free from the butler's grasp, but failed.
Raoul missed the signal that one of the maids made to the butler. The others had been trying to put the flame out. The fire had spread to the furniture. Ironically enough, even the fireplace was aflame. They were barely able to stand on floor that wasn't in flames. Saving the house was a lost cause. The fire was spreading too quickly and it was about to cut off their only means of exit. The butler literally dragged the Vicomte out of the house, the others close at hand.
Finally, yards from the entryway, Raoul broke free from his grasp. The staff was about to grab onto him again, but seeing him stand there staring at his house, they let him be.
Raoul couldn't believe his eyes. His house, his home was burning to the ground. He suddenly had a very good idea of what Erik must have felt like seeing his opera house burn.
There were many things that Raoul could be grateful for at that moment. Though he was injured standing in his pajamas barefoot on his lawn, he was alive. His staff was fine. He even was mildly happy that Christine was fine. He only had one horse in the stable and he had already seen it and the other staff member that had been absent when he had been dragged out. Everything but his physical possessions was perfectly safe. Nothing truly had sentimental value in that house since most of it had been taken home with his mother… Raoul faltered. There was only one thing he treasured in that house.
Only one, and as he watched the flames spread slowly from room to room he took stock of how the fire had yet to reach the second floor. Without actually realizing it, Raoul sprinted back towards his house.
His butler made to follow, but the others held him back. Raoul was too fast and too far ahead to do much except kill oneself.
o.o.o.o
Erik arrived just in time to be relieved that Raoul's staff had the common sense to bring him outside. He stared at the blonde for a moment as the blonde stared at his home.
To say he was surprised when Raoul ran back towards the house would be an understatement, but thankfully, his muscles knew exactly what to do. He, too, broke into a run.
Raoul was unexpectedly fast, especially considering the fact that Erik had noticed that his pant leg was burned off and the limb was bleeding. Still, Erik had to admire the Vicomte's tenacity and foolish courage when Raoul did not hesitate a bit upon entering the burning doorway.
Erik followed, using his arms to cover his face. The fire had consumed most of the first floor, and it was making its way upstairs. Erik briefly scanned the area, his body moving to get to areas with the least amount it heat. He was already sweating, the fire was so hot. Something caught his eye and he knew that Raoul had made his way up to the second floor.
Inwardly he groaned, but forced himself to not care if he felt like he was being cooked. He dodged as one of the support beams fell overhead. The house was falling apart, and quickly. He had to find Raoul before it was too late.
o.o.o.o
Raoul's leg was throbbing. His breathing was labored and he couldn't help but take deep gasping breaths as he ran. His mind was working on autopilot, which he was grateful for since he would have lost courage long ago.
He had raced the fire up the stairs. Banking right, he pushed ahead, ignoring all pain and entered the music room. It wasn't as hot on the second floor, but Raoul knew that would not last. The fire had been following him closely. He saw his violin and placed both it and the bow in its case. He clutched the case to his chest. He would not lose this instrument. It was his only connection to a happier time. He couldn't lose it, not to the fire and especially not to Christine.
Raoul was still gasping. He couldn't control his breathing and again his vision blurred. Everything was becoming hazy. The room was spinning. It created a dangerously beautiful affect as the red and orange of the fire left breathtaking trails in the air.
Raoul suddenly realized he was on the floor. He tried to get up since he could feel the fire closing in on him, but the room spun viciously when he tried.
He closed his eyes waiting for his end. It would be painful to be burned alive, but at least he wouldn't have to suffer any more. Erik was with Christine. Christine was with Erik. They were happy. Erik hated him. Erik loathed him. It hurt to breathe. Raoul wasn't sure if the constricting in his chest was because of his thoughts or because he had breathed in too much smoke.
Faintly he heard his name being called out.
Raoul smiled joyfully as he felt arms surround him. The angel of death had come to take him away, and oddly enough, it felt warm in those arms. It felt familiar, too. He felt safe and comforted, quite the opposite of what he had been expecting death to feel like.
He was starting to believe that it was all going to be fine now. Maybe death wasn't such a bad idea. He felt himself be lifted, subconsciously, he held on tighter to his case.
Erik finally found the Vicomte, and just in time, too. The fire had started to consume the second floor already and Raoul was in a room that had a lot of tinder. It looked to be part library part music room, if the piano in the corner was any indication. The door to the room had been on fire and Erik almost missed the body. He had to kick it out of the way quickly before entering; it swung with a creak of the hinges and the crackle of the terrible fire and almost swung back to hit him.
Erik could have sworn his heart stopped when he entered the room and saw Raoul lying prone on the floor. He called out his name, but received no response. Raoul looked at his general direction for a moment before his eyes rolled back into his head.
He would have to worry about it later though. After checking that the blonde was breathing and had a pulse, Erik had to decide what to do. The first step would be to find a way out of the house. The stairs were out of the question. Coming up had been bad since the fire had just started on it, but going down, would be deadly.
Erik easily lifted the blonde into his arms and belatedly noticed the case in his arms. Dismissing the confusion for a moment, he surveyed the room. There was a window, but they were on the second floor. He was certain he could jump it without being hurt, but that was only by himself. With the Vicomte in his arms, he wouldn't be able to get them both out of it unscathed. There was a tree, but how to maneuver holding Raoul and climbing down?
Turning around, he instead made for the door to look for another exit when the door itself finally fell off its hinges and collapsed directly in front of the doorway. Erik considered kicking it out of the way for a moment, but the bookshelf to his left suddenly collapsed to the floor, spreading tiny bits of tinder from the books into the air and towards them. He turned to protect Raoul, but did not have anything to cover his own face. He was suddenly thankful that he wore a mask or else he would have been burned badly.
The fire was only getting closer. They were stuck. The only way out was the window. Erik did not want to wait to see how close the fire could burn him. He was sweating already and Raoul was breaking out into a cold sweat. If his wounds weren't attended to soon, they might have to amputate his leg.
Erik adjusted his hold on the blonde and moved to the window. The fire was too close. They would be burned alive if they didn't leave the room now.
Bookshelves were falling left and right. Every time one fell, it would shower them with burning bits of paper. Erik had to pat out a fire that had started on his own shoulder, which had been a feat since he didn't want to put Raoul down.
There was no choice. Erik held tightly to Raoul and ran for the window. Getting out was his biggest concern. Unfortunately, the window was not the kind that opened. He covered Raoul with his own body the best he could and jumped through it instead.
The tree. He had to reach and try to grab onto the tree. A two-story drop could be fatal, and knowing his luck, Erik would kill Raoul. The glass shards cut, and he did his best to protect Raoul, but knew the Vicomte would sustain cuts. Erik held onto the blonde tightly with his right arm as he reached out blindly with his left. He needed to catch a branch from that tree. He needed to in order to save their lives.
o.o.o.o (what a crappy place to cut it off!)
Madame Giry paced in her room. Meg had gone to sleep though reluctantly in the girls' dormitory.
She needed to know what happened. Raoul's house was on fire and yet she could not go for herself to see. It would raise too many questions. She should turn Christine in to the police, but how would she be able to prove it?
In fact, Madame Giry stopped pacing and taking a candle, left her room heading towards Christine's. Reaching it, she didn't bother to knock and rather just entered the room. Even in the dimness that that candle provided, she could tell that Christine had not returned.
She was starting to feel desperate. The Vicomte hadn't been a bad person. In fact, Madame Giry had come to like him at the end. She had hoped he wouldn't be killed by Erik even though at the same time hoped he wouldn't kill Erik. The blonde was so naïve but good intentioned. She didn't want anything to happen to him especially by Christine's hand. The girl had betrayed both the men in her life. It had been a cruel twist of fate for her to have two suitors who had wanted her love when all she could give were empty words.
She left Christine's room and wandered the halls. She didn't know what to do with that child. Christine was changing and there was nothing Madame Giry could do to keep her on the right track. These actions were either malicious deeds or just plain idiotic compulsiveness. Madame Giry hoped it was the latter, that she could handle.
A thought hit her. Maybe… she tried to stop the idea before it continued and gave her hope. Maybe she could convince Erik to go and check for her. Raoul had tried to offer a peace offering. Maybe Erik would consider trying to return the favor.
Madame Giry walked purposefully to where the organ was last seen. Maybe Erik was still moving it. Upon arriving backstage, she was rather surprised to see that it was still sitting in the exact same spot she had last seen it. After the news that Christine had been acting strangely, she figured that the Phantom would take the organ downstairs and begin to play again. The happenings that occurred in the opera house were his business but she thought Christine would be too delicate a topic for him, even though she concluded that Erik had been the one to place the rats in her room.
She walked to the organ and checked all the shadows. She didn't want to call out to him for fear that someone might ask why she's doing so. Erik always had a way of answering unanswered calls anyway.
She abandoned her search for the Phantom and gave into the urge to check in on Meg. Sometimes she was happy that she only had one child and often wondered why it felt like she always had more.
o.o.o.o (back to the good stuff, couldn't leave you hanging. TT bad pun)
Erik almost lost hope of reaching the tree until his left wrist rather violently hit a branch. He stifled a scream and forced his fingers to grab on even though the nerves were jarred. His left shoulder almost wrenched from its socket. Erik felt his free fall stop suddenly and he held onto Raoul's waist as tightly as he could. Raoul was dangling from his grasp but to his surprise, the case that the Vicomte carried was still held on tightly. At least he knew that the blonde still had some fight in him yet.
Erik gasped for air. His left arm was going numb and his chest hurt.
He looked down toward the floor to see that they hadn't fallen very far. Not far enough to ensure a wholly safe landing, just a little below second story height. It shouldn't be so bad, but Raoul was in no position to land gracefully.
Erik closed his eyes for moment trying to gauge whether he could pull them both up onto the tree branch. He could still feel the heat on his back from the house. His breaths had yet to slow, but that was the least of his worries.
He distractedly wondered why Christine would burn down the house and what he would do to get his revenge…
Mid-distraction his already numb fingers gave and they both continued their plummet to the earth.
Erik managed to twist their bodies so that he would take the grunt of the impact. His back falling towards the floor at an alarming rate, he held on tighter to Raoul making sure that the only thing Raoul would feel was the force that made its way first through his body. Raoul would be fine. Erik knew that much.
Just as he felt a smile begin from the thought, his fall abruptly ended. The impact was shocking. He hadn't landed directly on his spine, which he was sure he would be thankful for some time later, but right now, all he could feel was the pain radiating from his back, traveling to his limbs, and going back again. His back protested and his head began pounding loudly. He couldn't move his limbs the way he wanted and Raoul rolled out of his embrace.
Erik knew they couldn't stay there. The house was too close and the fire still a danger. He had to move. He forced the pain away. He breathed heavily. The smoke made him want to cough, but when he did, he saw blood come out as well.
"Monsieur Chagny," Erik could hear the faint voice and the footsteps come nearer.
Panic rose and he finally found the strength to get up. He now knew that Raoul would be safe. His staff would come and take him to safety, to get medical attention.
Erik got to his feet and almost fell down again. His head hurt and he couldn't see straight. He couldn't breathe properly and he was trying to stop the cough that threatened to escape. He had no time to cough out blood. He weaved on his feet but somehow moved fast enough so that he could turn the corner of the house to hide.
He forced his legs to listen no matter how hard it was. He needed to hide. Turning the corner only meant he couldn't be seen for a short while. They would investigate since Erik was certain they had seen him follow Raoul into the house.
The voices were near.
Erik pushed his body to its limits. He made it into the woods but his body shut down. He stumbled over some bushes and fell to the grass in a heap with the hope in his heart that they wouldn't find him.
Footsteps came dangerously near his spot by the bushes, but whoever it was had been called back. Fire fighters had finally arrived and were in the process of trying to contain the fire.
Somewhere in his mind, Erik knew he should move away from the burning building, but he just wanted to rest. After a few fitful coughs of blood, Erik knew nothing but oblivion.
o.o.o.o
A/N: Don't forget to R/R (Read and Review)!
That wasn't much longer, was it? Sorry. o.O Technically it was, but not really. I couldn't just well start the next installment though. This would have to be the perfect place to stop it. Erik's on the verge of dying and Raoul might lose a leg. How much more drama do you want? Don't worry I haven't forgotten about the letter, but currently Erik has since of all this excitement.
Sorry for any typos, I tried to reread but kept getting bothered. I spell checked it though (if that's any consolation)
So, five reviews for the next installment. Thanks to all those who reviewed so far. I appreciate it:o)