Disclaimer: Please don't sue. I don't own POTO... All I own is an overactive imagination.
Summary: ErikRaoul slash.
Warning(s): homosexuality (that's what slash is people, but in later chapters though)
Pairing(s): ErikRaoul
Story note: none that I can think of right now.
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Imaginary Friends
Chapter 03 – I'm an Erik
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By: Lucifer Rosemaunt
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Last time:
Erik slowly approached the child. He looked young, very young, and because of the actions of his master, he was waking.
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"Philippe?" Raoul pushed himself up slowly. He felt dizzy, and his arms hurt. He wondered if he had fallen off the bed again.
Erik had stopped his approach to the child. He did not know what he was going to do, but he knew that his master's threat was not idle. He would be beaten badly if he did not keep the child hidden. Though he did not want to even bother with him, for his own sake he would have to. How was he supposed to keep him quiet though? Erik was not good with children; he was not good with people in general. He did not know what he was supposed to do.
Raoul had yet to notice him for which he was glad. He felt the urge to reach for the sack to cover his face even though he was certain the boy would not be able to clearly see him. He did not dare move for fear that the child would realize someone was with him.
"Mother? Father?" Raoul's voice trembled. He did not know where he was. It was so dark, and though he had never been particularly afraid of the dark, he was afraid of monsters. Monsters lurked in dark places like this. Philippe had told him so.
Even in the dark, Erik could tell that the boy had gotten some scrapes. He was actually surprised the child was not crying.
Raoul stretched his arms out onto the floor trying to figure out where he was. He whimpered. He was cold and confused. He had just been sleeping in the hotel with his family nearby. His hand hit something and it clanked. He reached out again, trying to find what his hand had hit. Maybe he could use the noise to get his parents to come. They always came when he was making too much noise. He felt cold metal under his fingers. It was like a tiny metal plate. He knew it could not have made the noise by itself and he laughed triumphantly when he found its partner.
Erik watched the boy find the cymbals with curiosity. Was he planning to play? Only when he saw that Raoul was about to bang them together did he move and grab the boy's hands. It stopped the cymbals from clinking against each other, but it did not stop Raoul from making noise. He screamed in shock. Erik quickly covered his mouth to muffle the noise. Raoul did not stop screaming though. From what Erik could understand, Raoul was yelling, "Monster! Monster! Don't eat me. Don't eat me" over and over again.
Whispering so as not to make more noise, Erik shook him slightly. "Stop yelling. I'm not going to eat you."
It took a moment before Raoul reacted to the words. He stopped screaming, but he was breathing unsteadily. Erik could feel the tears on his hands and knew that the boy was sobbing quietly. Erik slowly let him go and Raoul turned to face his general direction. In the dark, Raoul could not clearly see him, but he could now tell the figure apart from the shadows.
"You," sniffling, Raoul asked softly understanding that he needed to be quiet, "aren't a monster?"
Erik almost laughed at the irony. "I am."
"You are?" Instead of moving away from him, Erik was surprised to see Raoul try to move closer. He was trying to see his face. "You don't sound like one."
Erik took a step away from him.
Raoul continued, "And monsters don't admit that they're monsters."
"Well, I am a monster that does," Erik would not lie to the boy, but he wondered at his logic.
Raoul still seemed doubtful, "But you aren't going to eat me."
"I don't like little boys for dinner," Erik replied snidely, wondering why the child was so obsessed with monsters and being eaten.
Seeming to be appeased with the answer, Raoul sat down and fingered the cymbals in his hand. "Can you… can you tell me where I am?"
Erik watched him silently. He could not reveal his master or else when the ransom did come, the boy would tell them everything and he would be sold if not put in prison with him. He could not respond.
"Can you take me to my family?" Raoul asked sadly.
Erik frowned and slowly sat down as well. He did not want to deal with this child. In fact, if he could, he would have simply thrown the child out of his carriage and deal with the consequences. And since he could not, he felt a great urge to shake the child violently and yell at him that he was never going to see his family again.
The sudden fit of anger was only a little unexpected. Erik was frustrated and angry because he was going to see his family again if everything went according to plan. This boy had someone to come after him. He had a family who cared about him. He had a family that would not let him be caged for very long. Erik had no one who cared for him. Erik was jealous.
Raoul crawled forward until he was beside Erik. He took Erik's arm and wrapped it around his shoulder cuddling against him. It was only then did Erik realize the boy was shivering. No one had ever willingly come closer to him before and he was stunned. His mind had shut down. The only hand that had touched him had meant to harm. Instead, Raoul was holding onto his arm almost desperately.
Raoul's voice brought him out of the stupor.
"Can you?" Raoul asked again.
He rationalized that it was too dark and the boy did not know what he truly was. He pulled his arm away from Raoul and stood up. Raoul fell from the lack of support and cried out when he hit the floor.
"You need to be quiet," Erik hissed angrily. He walked to the corner of the carriage and grabbed the blanket. Raoul was trying to follow him, but since eyes were not accustomed to the darkness, he was moving slowly. Erik hesitated but did not reach for the sack. In fact, he was only getting the blanket to make the brat stop clinging to him and to keep him quiet.
"Ow," Raoul whispered when his hand knocked into the carriage wall.
Erik knew it had taken him much effort to keep silent. "Stop moving," he ordered his voice still hard. He observed the brat for a bit. He had stopped moving though he still shivered intermittently. He had pulled his knees to his chest and wrapped his arms around them.
Feeling the blanket in his hands, Erik wondered why he was being nice. He could gag the brat and no one would know he was there since no one ever looked into his carriage. That would be the best option, and Erik would not have to talk or answer stupid questions. Yet, he did not want to. The brat had not been cruel like everyone else in Erik's life if not overly naïve and obsessed with monsters. Not to mention the fact that he had not spoken aloud in weeks, no months. He had no one to talk to. His throat felt sore already and Erik did not think he could talk louder than a whisper. He would go mad with no one to talk to. He used to whisper some words to the stuffed monkey, but he could not stand the sound of his voice as it echoed in his head. Here was his chance to talk to someone who would listen and reply.
Raoul had done as he was told but he wished the stranger had not moved away. It was so cold here, wherever here was. Tears clung on the edges of his eyes, but he refused to let them fall. If he did cry, Philippe would only call him a baby again. He was not a baby. He was just scared since he did not know where he was. But he was still hopeful; this stranger sounded like an adult. Maybe he could help him find his family.
Erik had made a decision. He sat down making certain there was some distance between them before throwing the blanket over Raoul. Once the sun began to rise in an hour or so, the brat would see his face and that would silence him. He would not have to worry about dealing with stupid questions. Erik knew he might actually have to find a way to muffle the tears and cries of terror, but he would think of something in the hour he had. For now, he desperately wanted to hear a voice that did not threaten or curse him. He wanted to pretend that he was normal and not some monster that everyone hated.
Raoul started when the cloth landed on him, but smiled appreciatively. "I knew you weren't a monster," he stated triumphantly. He pulled the blanket around his shoulders, and to Erik's surprise, he opened one end and moved to cover Erik.
"What are you doing?" Erik snapped.
Raoul stopped with his arm on Erik's shoulder. "Aren't you cold?"
"No," Erik replied as though Raoul were the stupidest creature in the world.
"Oh," Raoul deflated and pulled away from him. He huddled by himself and he cried softly. The stranger hated him. Philippe used that voice when Raoul accidentally broke one of his things. The stranger would not help him find his way home if he was mad. He would be stuck here in the dark.
Erik had been surprised. He was not cold, but the brat would not have known that. Now he was crying. At least, he was doing it softly.
Erik bit his tongue and wondered if he was doing the right thing when he moved closer to Raoul and pulled him against his side like before. Raoul was still shaking from crying, but the tears subsided eventually. He was only doing this to… to what? It felt awkward to hold someone else, but there was this part in him that believed he would never be able to touch someone like this again. He would never have another opportunity to be comforted by someone else's warmth.
He was terribly angry with the child in his arms; angry, irritated, and jealous. Insanely jealous of him. But how could he possibly miss this opportunity? His life was to be trapped in a cage and beaten on a regular basis. There was never a gentle hand or kind voice. Here was a naïve, stupid boy who spoke to him, even told him he was not a monster, and who practically hugged him. Just for this hour, he could stay like this and keep in his memory of the only time he had been able to do so.
Raoul leaned heavily against Erik. He had quieted down considerably enough that Erik was beginning to wonder if he had fallen asleep.
"Will you take me to my family?" Raoul suddenly asked.
Erik shook his head and answered, "No."
Erik waited for him to start crying again, but Raoul did not.
"You can't. Can you?" Raoul guessed. Now that he knew the stranger was not mad at him, he was absolutely certain that he would have helped if he could. He had a blanket around his shoulders to prove that. So, the only reason he would say no would be because he could not help him.
Startled at the insight, Erik asked, "Who says I can't?"
Raoul shrugged and yawned.
"They'll come for you," Erik said, bitterness evident in his voice.
Raoul nodded. He believed they would too. His parents had told him whenever he got lost to stay calm and stay where he was until he saw a police officer. Raoul did not think there were any officers around yet, and he was so tired he could wait a little longer for them to find him. He wished they were here already, but at least there was someone who made it less scary. Once more, he grabbed onto Erik's arm tightly. "You'll protect me from monsters, right?"
Erik could not help but scoff, "I will, brat."
Raoul tugged angrily on his arm, "I'm not a brat. I'm a Raoul."
Erik rolled his eyes at that statement. "You're Raoul. Not a Raoul."
"I'm not the only Raoul," Raoul argued, remembering the time his mother had been teaching him proper greetings. She had corrected him then too. Philippe had told him how to respond the next time she corrected him. He felt like crying again. He missed his family.
Erik hmph'd but did not reply.
Raoul felt close to sleep when he heard the stranger say.
"I'm an Erik."
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End Chapter
Word count: 2,134
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A/N: Don't forget to R/R (Read and Review)!
Chapter review: Don't know if 'brat' is an anachronism in this story, but Erik's going to call him that.
Oh, and way muchly fluff in this chapter. Don't know where that came from (I've apparently moved from major angst to fluff-ville), but there's drama in the next chapter when Raoul sees Erik's face! Madness.