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: Just re-read the last chapter… I found a typo… "He just as he felt a smile begin from the thought, his fall abruptly ended." Should actually be without the first he… that was random. So, sorry about that… I'm going to fix it, but only when I post this chapter up so I don't confuse anyone and don't raise any hopes, so sorry about that. Spell check didn't seem to catch that one. :o(
Sorry again for the long waits sometimes… I'm just getting into the groove of working and writing, so it's taking more time than I'd like… than you'd like too I'm sure.
Intro to new character, I didn't want to add some random character, but Henri will help some with the plot. He'll help a lot actually.
o.o.o.o
Pass Time: Recovery o-
o.o.o.o
By: Lucifer Rosemaunt
o.o.o.o
Last Time: Christine ditched Raoul in his time of need and is currently back at the Opera House. Madame Giry wonders where Erik has gone to and hopes Raoul is fine. Raoul was first saved by his staff and then later by Erik in his attempt to save his beloved violin. Erik plays the white knight, saves Raoul, but was terribly injured in the process (falling out of a tree can be pretty bad).
o.o.o.o
-.-
Madame Giry entered the girls' dormitory quietly. She walked to Meg's bed to assuage her own worries, but she passed a bed that she knew should be currently vacant, occupied. She walked closer to the bed and narrowed her eyes when she saw that it was Christine.
She hovered uncertainly between waking her up and letting her sleep.
Instead, she had a random and quite unexpected inspiration and immediately knew who could help her. Christine would be spared from Madame Giry's wrath tonight by pure luck.
Madame Giry spared a glance at Meg who slept on peacefully, and then she exited the room quickly and wondered why she hadn't thought of it before. If Raoul were here, then Andre and Firmin would want to know. The Vicomte had been the patron for the Opera Populaire. They might want more of his money since she couldn't really imagine them helping for any other reason.
She went out of her way to wake one of the stage boys from his slumber and told him to tell the managers to go to the Chagny estate. The young boy looked at her through sleepy eyes and almost went back to sleep, but a prod and hard response woke him up.
It was nearly morning. The night had truly been long.
o.o.o.o
The butler, Henri (just because I'm sick of calling him 'the butler'), grabbed Raoul's arm while another staff member grabbed the other. A maid retrieved the case. Together they carried Raoul away from the still burning household.
The fire fighters had taken long enough to arrive, but they were working very quickly to try to contain it to only the building.
The staff hadn't seen exactly what happened, but Henri and the others had run toward the house some time after Raoul and the mysterious man they saw. All they knew was that Raoul had managed to get out. Henri had his suspicions that the mystery man had really saved the Vicomte, but he would worry about that later.
Raoul was still unconscious. Pulling him away from the smoke was the only thing they could think to do, so they all walked to the very border of the estate near the entrance. The medic with the fire fighters had cleaned Raoul's wounds, various cuts from the glass but more importantly, he put salve on Raoul's left leg and arm where the fire had caused the most bodily damage. Henri was glad Raoul was asleep since the medic had to pull off the dead skin that had been burned too badly. Raoul even twitched in his unconscious state it was so painful. He told the staff that Raoul's leg and arm would heal as long as they kept the wounds clean and applied the salve everyday to prevent infection. He said that the fever would eventually go away with rest and food.
Not knowing what else to do, they let Raoul sleep on as they watched the fire fighters battle the flames. Their home had been destroyed.
Everyone turned around suddenly when Raoul started coughing violently.
"Where?" He barely gasped out. "Where am I?"
They all gathered around him. Henri was the first to speak up, "You're still home… in front of the entrance gates."
Raoul slowly sat up. It hurt to move. His leg and arm were throbbing and his throat was screaming in protest whenever he tried to breathe. He looked down to see that he had bandages on said appendages. Everything that had happened came rushing back at him. "The fire," he still couldn't speak above a whisper no matter how hard he tried.
"Shh," Henri coaxed, "You shouldn't be talking. The medic said you breathed in too much smoke and you may lose your voice for a while. Those same fire fighters are trying to put out the flames. It's been contained in the main building, so the property around should be fine."
That was good news in the end. Still, Raoul looked at the burning house mournfully. Everyone came out fine. He looked around frantically when he realized what he was missing. One of the maids noticing his search, handed him his violin case. Sighing, Raoul tried to smile his thanks, but he was fairly certain it came out as a grimace.
Raoul remembered running in, but he couldn't remember how he got out. In fact, he remembered the angel of death coming to take him away. He tried asking what happened, but this time no sound came out. He tried harder, but it only hurt him more. Henri and the others forced him to lie back down.
He felt helpless. He could hear the shouts of the fire fighters talking to each other and the crackle of the fire, but beyond that, the night was quiet. It gave him time to think. Everything had fallen apart in two days. Though technically, it would be morning so maybe it was three days. He had managed to live a relatively fulfilling life the months that the opera house had been being reconstructed (not quite rebuilt since it was mostly only cosmetic in the other wings, save for the main auditorium). Relatively fulfilling because anything was better than that time when he hadn't wanted to move at all.
He had almost fooled himself into thinking that his plan would work. He would rebuild the opera house… what had been his plan? For certain, he knew he couldn't leave. He understood that much. Oh yeah, he had just wanted to be near to him, to Erik. He thought that he could live knowing Erik didn't love him as long as he could just pretend. He had proved himself wrong on that count. He couldn't pretend. It hurt so much more to be near and not be able to believe.
His thoughts were making its way through a familiar rut in his mind: Erik had Christine. Christine had Erik.
Those thoughts were cut short when he heard a carriage pull up to his gate. He turned his head to look.
Andre and Firmin approached rapidly, concern written on their faces.
Raoul tried to sit up, and he would've fallen back down had it not been for Henri who steadied him.
"Monsieur Vicomte," Firmin stared at the almost put out flames, "Are you okay? Whatever happened?"
Raoul looked at Henri exasperatedly when he tried to speak and nothing came out.
Speaking on his behalf, Henri began, "The Vicomte has breathed in too much smoke and currently cannot talk. Other than burns and cuts, Monsieur is still alive. As for what happened…"
Henri paused briefly when he saw Raoul shake his head almost imperceptibly.
"Some thief broke into our house and in his panic when the Vicomte found him, he tried to burn the house down."
Andre and Firmin looked at Raoul in confirmation. Raoul nodded though he really wanted to look at Henri in confirmation. He never realized how creative his butler was. That was quite the fabrication and he would have said so, but was unable. It made more sense than saying it was an accident. That would have made them look like fools.
Andre spoke up, "That's terrible. We heard about it from Madame Giry who said she heard it from a messenger who happened to pass by. Firmin and I were talking about it on the carriage ride over and we would like to offer the Opera Populaire as shelter for as long as you wish. You and your staff of course."
Raoul stared at the managers in utter disbelief. The idea was insane. He couldn't. He just couldn't. That would mean that they would all be living under the same roof. They being him, Erik, and Christine. He couldn't. Not when Christine had said that she would tell Erik to hurt him. Her words had actually been "he will make you regret it" – it being, stepping inside the opera house, and then something like "Erik will have his way with you" – which if Raoul had been more innocent, would have been a more effective and frightening threat.
Before he could even respond, Henri spoke up instead, "Monsieurs, thank you very much for your generosity. Our house is gone and we have nowhere else in Paris to go. We'd like to accept your offer."
Raoul looked at Henri indignantly, but the older man didn't look fazed at all.
The managers looked to Raoul in confirmation, just missing the look Raoul had given to his butler. The blonde nodded, albeit reluctantly. They had no other choice.
He could just feel the premonition of trouble.
"Good. We can still actually keep your presence a secret," Andre continued.
The blonde highly doubted that could occur. News in the opera house spread more quickly than the fire had spread in his house. Raoul gauged that comparison in his head for a moment. He shouldn't be able to make light of the situation so quickly, yet he was. He looked at the house and realized it was not home… home was the house by the sea, it was the staff he had around him, and it was being around the people you loved. The house could be forgotten. He would still never forgive Christine for burning down his house, though if he were honest with himself, he would have never been able to forgive her even before the fire since she had stolen Erik from him. Technically, Erik wasn't his, but she should've have left him alone nonetheless. She was bad news for them both.
Raoul almost missed when Firmin explained it, "There's the old wing of the opera house, more like a long hallway on a floor not many people visit, that we now use for small props since our performers and workers are too superstitious and wanted to sleep elsewhere. No one goes there in fear of the Phantom of the Opera," Firmin rushed to explain, "However, that area is as safe as any other part of the opera house."
He wanted to just place his head in his hands and cry, that or scream aloud in frustration. He did neither. It was as safe, that opera house wasn't safe at all, but Raoul couldn't even remark on that fact. This situation was just all wrong. It was wrong in so many ways Raoul could not believe he was going to go along with it. He would be staying in an empty hallway, empty floor that was often 'haunted' by the Phantom of the Opera.
Raoul hoped against hope that it was pure superstition, but any place within Opera Populaire's walls would be dangerous. He had no other choice though. The weather would be turning more fierce as winter approached and they truly had no other place to stay. They could leave Paris… Raoul knew he couldn't. He couldn't leave everything behind.
Raoul was pulled out of his thoughts when he was helped to his feet, or rather foot and limped to the waiting carriage with the help of the managers. They managed to fit everyone except Henri and the grounds keep into the carriage since Raoul needed more space.
They left, but before Firmin entered the carriage, Henri asked that he send Madame Giry back with the carriage to pick him up. Firmin stared at the butler in confusion for a moment before nodding his head.
The grounds keep offered to stay, but Henri insisted that he just take the horse and ride alongside to make sure nothing else happened. He agreed and Henri was left on the Chagny estate with nothing but the burned house and the busy firefighters. He sat down, tired after the night they'd had.
o.o.o.o
Madame Giry was surprised when Raoul arrived bandaged up in just his pajamas, but that was actually eclipsed when she was told by Firmin to go back with the carriage to pick up the butler who they had had to leave on the Chagny estate.
She hadn't wanted to leave because she wanted to make sure nothing happened to Raoul. The phantom had seemed pleased with the new organ, but one never knew with Erik. He had very fickle moods and the Vicomte's safety was in the forefront of her mind. After Christine's attack, she didn't want him to have to face another confrontation.
Instead, she hoped Erik would leave him be for the night and rode the carriage and returned to the estate.
When she arrived, the gate was open and no butler in sight. The estate was eerily quiet, since the fire had been put out and the fire fighters had subsequently left. She told the driver to pull the carriage up to the house.
Madame Giry saw an elderly gentleman exit the house just as the carriage pulled up.
Helping Madame Giry down, he introduced himself, "Good morning, Madame. I am the Vicomte's butler, Henri. I have asked you to come here to ask you some questions and show you something."
o.o.o.o
Raoul held the violin case close to him as the rest of his staff followed closely behind. Luckily, no one had been up. He leaned heavily on his grounds keep though he tried to walk by himself. His wounds were bothering him, but he was too overwhelmed at the moment to really complain. Andre and Firmin were showing them the way to their temporary rooms. The hallways were still dark in the pre-morning darkness since no candles had been lit since the area was being used as storage.
Unfortunately, Raoul knew these hallways well. The first time he had been here flashed in his mind. Little Lotte and that mysterious voice in the room. That had been the first time since they had been children that Raoul and Christine were brought together. That had been the first time he had seen an opera in the Opera Populaire. That had been the first time he had known Erik existed.
So lost in his memories, the blonde almost lost his balance when they stopped in front of Christine's old room.
Firmin noted, "This is the best room in this area. It should be yours," Firmin waited until Raoul entered. The Vicomte didn't want to stay in this room, but to say otherwise would bring up questions, where else would he stay? And maybe, in some twisted rational in his own mind, this would be the last place Erik would look for him.
Once everyone was inside the room, in some odd sort of tour, Andre spoke, "Everything you need should be inside and if it isn't you may just ask it from me or Firmin and we will see to it immediately."
Raoul looked around the room. It would seem that Christine's room had yet to be used for storage. Everything was neatly in its place, and save for the white sheets over all the furniture and the dust one would think it had just been prepared.
Andre continued, "Your staff may choose any of the other rooms here. Not all of them have been used for storage yet, so it shouldn't be too hard to find an appropriate room."
"If that is all," Firmin looked questioningly, "we shall allow you to settle in and get some sleep since I'm certain the night has been quite long."
The managers took their leave, and Raoul stood in the middle of the room assuring his staff that he was fine. They left him with a single candle and his violin.
The door to the room clicked shut.
Raoul surveyed the room. It looked exactly the same. He could almost imagine that first night. He had been so excited to see Christine. To imagine a childhood friend in a new city. It had truly been exciting. He cared for her dearly, but how times change. She had changed much, and Raoul figured he had too. He limped over to the bed and placed his violin bedside. He pulled the sheet off and let it haphazardly fall to the floor. He could worry about that later. Raoul finally let his body rest as he laid down. It had been a long night and he could feel his body heating up from the fever.
Before sleeping, he cast a scared and hopeful look at the sheet that he knew to cover the mirror.
He wasn't sure if he wanted Erik to leave him completely alone until they could fix his house or if he wanted to see him. He hoped beyond hope that everything would turn out okay.
o.o.o.o
Erik woke up slowly and painfully.
Candles were lit in the room and he pulled the blanket over his head.
Erik froze. Blanket? Candles?
He didn't want to move because it hurt to just breathe, but last he remembered, he had crawled into some bushes to hide from Raoul's staff. Now, if the comfort he faintly recognized as a bed meant he was in a room somewhere, then he forced himself to open his eyes and look around him. He tried to sit up but a hand forcefully kept him down.
"What?"
The lights were so bright to his eyes.
"Don't move." A stern voice commanded.
Like Erik would listen to some random voice, he tried to sit up again. The hand was still there to hold him down. He didn't want to admit it, but he didn't think he could get up if he tried.
"Don't move, Erik."
He finally recognized who had spoken, Madame Giry.
She continued, "You have a few broken ribs and you sprained your left wrist badly."
Erik lay back down, closing his eyes. He was alive and safe. He felt his body relax; that little tension had tired him out completely. He was alive. It was unbelievable in his opinion. He moved his legs to a better position and wiggled his toes for the sake of knowing that he could still feel them. He wasn't paralyzed. He had considered the fact that he had been able to get away a good sign that he hadn't broken his back, but to be absolutely certain was a relief.
"How did I get here?" Erik asked, since asking about Raoul would surely give away his current predicament with his emotions.
Madame Giry looked at him. She had been shocked when Henri had showed her his body. She had thought he was dead. There was blood on his clothes and on the floor. Not a lot, but it had been blood. Henri had told her what really happened that night. He concluded with his assumption that Erik had indeed saved Raoul's life after he ran back into the house.
Madame Giry was certain that no present, no organ could buy Erik's protection. She wondered what had happened that night underneath the opera house when everyone thought that both Raoul and Erik would be dead by morning, yet neither was. Erik was hiding something. He saved Raoul at the risk of his own life. Madame Giry had never thought she'd seen the day that occurred. Erik took risks. He even took some risks with Christine, but they were all calculated. All calculated with a contingency plan. Running into a burning building to save a Vicomte that should be your enemy was not a calculated risk.
"Madame Giry?" Erik enquired, wondering if she was going to answer. He didn't bother to move though. It hurt too much.
"Sorry," Madame Giry replied. She had been so lost in trying to figure out the relationship between Erik and Raoul. She remembered that Henri had wanted to keep his part in the second rescue a secret. It made sense since Erik would probably overreact about someone else having been there when he had been so vulnerable, "I went to the Chagny estate to look for Christine. I arrived after everyone else left and was walking around when you groaned. So, I hid you in my carriage and brought you back to my room to recover."
Erik wanted to ask about Raoul. He knew that Madame Giry would wonder why he had gone to the Chagny estate. The woman wasn't stupid. She would figure out that he had tried to save Raoul. He could've done a better job. He not only hurt himself, he almost killed Raoul. The guilt of hurting the blonde cast a damper on his already somber mood. He had sworn he would protect him from harm, and he had failed. The boy lost his house and almost lost his life. Where would he stay now? He probably had other friends' houses to stay at except for the fact that everyone thought he had left Paris. Would he leave Paris this time? Was this the last event that would run him away?
Erik felt murderous rage towards Christine and if it didn't hurt so much when he tensed, he would have stayed angry. Instead, the phantom calmed down to a sullen mood. He wanted to know what had happened after he had passed out. Who to ask though? Madame Giry was his best bet, but she would ask too many questions. On the other hand, she already knew too much.
"Go to sleep, Erik. Your ribs will only get better if you rest. No moving for at least a week, and then we'll see how well you're healing," Madame Giry stood up to leave. Before closing the door, she commented, "Raoul is fine. He has been taken in by some friends."
She was surprised to see the faint smile on his face, then left to check on Raoul.
o.o.o.o
A/N: Don't forget to R/R (Read and Review)!
There's something you should remember that occurs in chapter 5 that'll come into play later on. You'll figure out what it is pretty easily.
You know, I was looking through the stats on how many people go to my story and either the first chapter sucks a lot or people don't realize it's slash because chapter 1 has like 300+ hits while chapter 2 barely has 150… hmm… I'm trying to figure more ways to get reviews because just to make my life easier I might ask for 10 reviews instead of 5, but meh, it doesn't really matter in the end. 5 or 10, I need to finish this story because I want to know what happens next. Sometimes I reread the whole thing and I'm like when the hell is the next chapter going to come out, and when I realize I'm like damn I need to start writing again. Still though…
Thanks for the constant support with the reviews. I appreciate it, and it makes me want to write faster (though sometimes it doesn't work that well sheepish shrug)
So, ten reviews for the next installment – wow, that's really reaching, but meh, enough people read it (unless you fanatics re-read numerous chapters over and over, which I doubt). Let's see how that works… if it doesn't, then I'll just post after my usual quota. Thanks to all those who reviewed so far. I appreciate it:o)