Title: 25
#: 2. 10 part 1
Author: Lucifer Rosemaunt
Fandom: Phantom of the Opera
Pairing(s): ErikRaoul
Summary: Modern AU. Raoul's known Erik for almost the entirety of his life, or the one where a Chagny ends up changing Erik's life in one way or another.
Warning(s): pre-slash, AU
Word Count: 2,971
Rating: K+
A/N: You have me until Easter. It's part of my Lenten decision to stop procrastinating and wasting my time with unnecessaries. On a related note, Fanfiction has passed the 'necessary' requirement list and has been bumped up in priorities in my new effort at time management. So, I'm trying to finish all my unfinished fanfics before Easter (which I already know is a long shot, but I figure I might as well try. It's always about trying).
Story note: Moreover, this was originally only going to be 5 chapters, but seeing as I am having such difficulty freaking editing this one. I'm cutting it up into smaller chapters. There are only 5 main installments though.
o.o.o.o
Ages:
Raoul, 10 yo
Philippe, 20 yo
Erik, 20 yo
o.o.o
When the doorbell finally chimed, Erik entirely gave up the pretense of reading his textbook. Instead, he waited for Philippe to answer the door.
This visit had been planned since last Sunday, and five days had never seemed so long to him before. There was a pause before the doorbell chimed a second time. By then, he was already on his feet lingering by the closed door of his bedroom. If he was so inclined to press his ear to it, he would hear the shuffling of feet followed by several loud thumps coming from the room beside his. As it was, he only heard the doorbell chime a third time.
"Erik, please!" Philippe called, voice muffled through the wall that separated their rooms.
He waited a moment, hand hovering over the doorknob before determining enough time had elapsed so that it would not seem he'd already been expecting Philippe's request. He paused outside his roommate's door to see him hurriedly tossing his dirty clothes underneath the bed and turning the disarray of his textbooks and projects into what Philippe liked to call "organized piles." Erik called it clutter.
Grabbing a convenient crumpled up plastic bag from his desk, Philippe started shoving in food wrappers and miscellaneous trash that never made it to his trash can. He noticed Erik watching him when he bent to pick up an empty water bottle. "What are you doing?" He picked up a sock and threw it at him, a projectile that Erik easily dodged. "They're waiting." He motioned for him to hurry up, flicking his hand towards the door.
Erik only rolled his eyes before heading towards the living room to get to the front door. He opened it just as Mrs. Chagny rang the doorbell once more.
"Oh," she gasped, "Erik." She narrowed her eyes at him, studying his face. He fought the urge to touch his face to make sure he was, in fact, wearing his porcelain mask. After a pause, she nodded and smiled, "You've grown since we last saw you." At her statement, he did reach up to touch his mask. How she could call him handsome was still a mystery to him, but he had learned well enough not to question her outright.
"Mrs. Chagny." Erik grinned and moved to the side to invite her in. "It's only been two months since school began. I couldn't have changed that much."
"Do you doubt me?" She placed a hand on his wrist.
He shook his head quickly in response.
The Chagny matron looked like such a delicate thing, petite and slender. The top of her head barely reached his shoulders. He remembered at one point in their senior year in high school suddenly realizing that he towered over her. Her blonde hair gently curled at the ends, which lately, she'd kept at shoulder length. Her eyes were such a light blue that Erik had often wondered if she wore contacts to achieve that color – he had made the mistake of asking Philippe not long after they'd first met if she did. She did not. She did, however, wear sundresses as much as possible and presented the picture of a perfect housewife, mother, and strong woman.
And, Erik was certain she was all those things. Mrs. Chagny was far from delicate. She had raised two beautiful and polite daughters as well as two overly active boys, three if you counted the two years Erik had practically lived at the Chagny household. It had also mostly been single-handedly since Mr. Chagny was always away for work. She doted on her children in every way possible. Her voice was bigger than all of theirs combined, which was quite a feat. He had witnessed firsthand as her voice cut through the din of the Chagny siblings' arguments. Yet, at the same time, the authority she could put into a single word when just as silent was astonishing. There was no doubt that she was capable of doing everything: cooking, cleaning, shopping, and she worked from home as a tax consultant to supplement their income. She could be demure and poised, but Erik only really ever remembered her as she joined in their impromptu touch football games in the backyard, boys against girls, or with her hands and clothes just as filthy as their own, as she carved pumpkins with them.
Glancing past him, she asked, "Is my son trying to clean the pigpen he lives in?"
Before Erik could reply, Philippe yelled from within his room, "I heard that!"
"You were meant to," she called back. She pulled a small container of food from the large bag that served as her purse and went directly to the kitchen to drop it off.
Erik let her pass and stared expectantly out the door.
Raoul shifted the duffle bag over his shoulder. His hair was chin length and completely disheveled, covering much of his face – not that it mattered since he had taken to staring at the floor instead of meeting people's eyes. Even now, he stared at the copper-colored, metal base of the doorframe. Noise reducing headphones were over his ears, and for all the world, he seemed to be able to ignore everyone and everything. His oversized hoodie and cargo pants made him look much smaller than he already was; he was practically swimming in his clothes. He had lost all of his baby fat even though he had yet to have a proper growth spurt, and the twig of a boy that they were left with was nothing like Erik remembered. It seemed that gone was the ecstatic little boy who ran to greet them every afternoon with hugs as though they'd been gone for months instead of the few hours that had passed. He would have even preferred the outfits Raoul had been made to wear as a child to this.
He chastised himself for those thoughts though, telling himself that it had only been a matter of time before Raoul grew up. However, he could not help but feel there had been some other impetus to this abrupt maturation. These changes had only just occurred in the past few months. The summer had started out as it had every year for the past five years. Philippe and Erik had returned home and split the time between a part time job and wandering aimlessly throughout the city with Raoul tagging along. Philippe always wanted to spend as much time with his brother as possible and Erik was embarrassed to agree that he did as well; so, they did things that would include the youngest Chagny, bowling, arcades, or movies. Most of the time, they simply ended up in the backyard with the sprinklers on in only their swimming trunks as they made up games that usually devolved into tag and water balloon fights.
A couple weeks into the summer, Raoul simply stopped following them. No matter the hour or the day, he had somewhere else to be or other friends to meet. He'd even gone so far as to volunteer to help the kids in summer school. The only time that Erik and Philippe had seen him was at dinner since it was mandatory and he was usually out first thing in the morning. Soon, they were seeing him in those overly, loose cargo pants and oversized hoodies even though it was the middle of summer. He stopped answering their questions, soon avoided Philippe's hugs, and refused to get a haircut.
Philippe had taken it in stride, simply counting it as one of those phases that Raoul necessarily had to go through. He had muttered that phrase, "it's just a phase" under his breath often and hadn't tried to push his beloved younger brother into joining them, but Erik could see that he was disturbed by this change. It was easy to see something he was feeling all too well. Erik hated to think that the tumultuous teenage years were starting early for Raoul. He dreaded the changes that were occurring for the pre-teen and could only hope that they weren't as bad for him as they had been for Erik, the isolation, uncertainty. The fear.
"Raoul," Erik ducked his head slightly, hoping to catch his gaze and interest him in something other than the floor. All that garnered him was the barest of acknowledgements, a glance from beneath eyelashes, before the boy walked through the door. Despite the limited space, he attempted to give Erik the widest berth possible as he pressed against the door frame, scanned the apartment once, then headed directly for the couch where he proceeded to sit and hug the duffle bag to his chest.
Erik silently turned, watching him, not quite knowing how to respond to that. Mrs. Chagny, hands now clear from the Tupperware, closed the door he'd simply forgotten with Raoul's entrance. He shook his head slightly and refocused on her.
She smiled at him gently. "Let me look at you."
As he'd learned to do all those years ago, he managed to stay still as she straightened his shirt at his shoulders then at his sides. He was glad he had forgone wearing a collared shirt today or else she would have fussed with the collar for longer than was necessary. She picked at what little hair he had and then pat it down smooth. She placed her hands on his cheeks, one on his skin and one on the mask, and forced him to lean forward to bestow a kiss on his forehead. With a candor it had taken him two years to believe, she fondly smiled at him. "You get more handsome every time I see you. I am so proud of you."
He tried to return the smile, but it was shakier than he'd like to admit. This woman had the strength, the perseverance to make a boy who had nothing, who believed in nothing, to believe in… Erik was certain that he believed everything was possible because of her. He cleared his throat from the tightness that had formed and took a step back. Mrs. Chagny only smiled wider.
She had already turned her attention to the apartment when Erik managed to mumble, "Thank you."
Philippe chose that moment to rush out of his room. "Hey, mom." He picked her up in a big hug and spun her around. "Raoul," he waved but either Raoul didn't hear him or ignored his greeting completely. Philippe frowned when Raoul sat unmoved but turned his attention back to her. "How do you like what we've done to the apartment?"
She didn't answer him immediately since she was more concerned with looking him over to make sure he had been taking care of himself. "You've gotten fatter."
Erik didn't stifle his laugh fast enough.
Sparing the briefest of moments to glare at him, Philippe said to his mom with an exaggerated pout, "Are you kidding me? You don't see me for two months and this is the hello I get?"
She stopped his griping by pulling him forward to kiss his forehead as well. "Even though you've gotten flabbier, you still look handsome. I am proud of you, too."
Philippe kissed her on her cheek. "Thanks, mom. Are you going to be staying for dinner?"
She shook her head. "No, your father and I need to leave."
"It was a two hour drive," Philippe tugged her further into the apartment. "And, you just got here. You shouldn't have to drive again already."
"I think he's actually right," Erik added. "You should at least stay through dinner."
"You do not even have food yet." She raised an eyebrow, daring them to argue. When they didn't, she continued, "You know your father needs to get to his meeting. And, you needn't worry. He's doing all the driving." Seeing their frowns, she added, "But maybe on the way back, I'll convince him to stop working long enough so we can eat dinner here."
They both still looked rather displeased with her compromise but knew that come Sunday, they would all be having dinner. And, knowing her, she would probably bring all the food for fear that they would forget.
"Now," she tilted her head towards Raoul, "what are you planning for my dear baby?"
That garnered a look from Raoul and Erik was beginning to wonder if the young Chagny was listening to any music at all.
Philippe didn't notice though. He was more focused on answering. "There's a type of concert series on campus. There are some stalls and live music in the quad. I thought he might enjoy it."
"Are you going to make sure he has time to finish his homework?"
"Of course." Philippe scoffed, looking away from her.
"Yes, Mrs. Chagny," Erik answered at the same time. He got a look for the title, but he really could not call her anything but that. It felt wrong to address her as anything else.
"I'm trusting you to make sure he doesn't forget," she directed at Erik. Her tone suggested she was referring to not only Raoul, but Philippe as well. "I'm sure he'll enjoy spending time with you two. It's always so awfully quiet without you two home anymore."
Philippe gave her a sad smile. "Once school is done I'll move somewhere back near home."
She nodded before going to the living room so that she could kiss Raoul on the cheek. She straightened her dress as she commented, "I do like what you did with the apartment. It looks much nicer now." She deadpanned, "A little messy but nice."
As an afterthought, she leaned forward and lifted one side of the headphones Raoul wore to whisper something in his ear. He blushed. "Mom," he whined before whispering something furiously into her ear. She only laughed and kissed him on the cheek again before heading towards the front door. Both Erik and Philippe stared at the exchange. It was the most emotion they'd seen from him in a while.
"Make sure you take good care of your brother," she said, patting Raoul on his head once before turning to leave. Philippe held the door open for her.
"We'll be back for him and for dinner on Sunday." With a kiss to both Philippe and Erik on the cheek, she left.
Philippe immediately turned his attention to Raoul, hopeful and determined after seeing that glimpse of the Raoul he knew. Casually sitting beside him, he asked, "So, how was the drive?"
Raoul simply tensed, eyes focused slightly away from him.
"It must have been long," Philippe tried again.
Raoul ducked his head further, his hair draping to cover more of his face.
Frowning, Philippe waited a couple of seconds before standing up. He cleared his throat and faked a smile at Erik's direction. "I'm- I'm just going to finish up cleaning my room and then we'll figure out if we want to go to the quad."
Erik watched him escape to his room and waited for the door to shut before he stood directly in front of Raoul. He held out a hand. "Give it here."
Raoul didn't look up.
"Don't make me repeat myself." His voice left no room to wonder if he would be bold enough to take it by force. He would. "I know you can hear me and I expect you to give me your mp3 player and the headphones. You'll get it back at the end of the weekend." His hand remained empty for another minute before Raoul tugged the headphones roughly off his head, and digging into his pocket he pulled out the mp3 player. It seemed that ten years of listening to his elders hadn't faded quite yet for Raoul, but what did surprise Erik, however, was the rather mutinous expression that had been directed at him for a quick moment before Raoul hid behind his hair again.
He pocketed the electronics. "I don't know what's going on with you. I know you didn't have any say coming here, but acting like a brat isn't going to get you back home." Tired of having this conversation with the top of Raoul's head, he crouched down in front of him. Still, Raoul wouldn't meet his eyes. "I don't really care what's going on with you." That earned him a surprised look from the young boy. Erik sighed. "Shit." Raoul's eyes widened at his expletive, and Erik suddenly realized why he stopped meeting people's eyes. Raoul had to know just how much he revealed with them. Clear blue eyes shone with worry and a hint of hurt from what he'd said. "Damnit, Raoul. Why don't you talk to your brother? Whatever is going on, he won't care. You know that. You know he loves you no matter what, right?" He hoped that Raoul hadn't heard him hesitate at that particular four letter word. "And I-," he faltered before settling on saying, "I'm like the worst person to be talking to."
Still, Raoul just stared at him past his bangs, eyes searching but wary.
Erik stood up abruptly, unable to stand the skittish boy in front of him. That wariness put him on edge, made him all too aware of his mask and made him realize that he hadn't worried about his face around this family for so long that seeing the fear and caution now made him a little sick. "You'll be sleeping on the couch. Everything's in the same place as it was when you visited at the beginning of the school year." He made a similar retreat as Philippe and headed to his room. "Any food in the fridge is free game and no TV until you finish your homework." Making the decision for them all, he added, "We're going to be leaving in an hour."
o.o.o.o
End chapter 02 part 1
A/N: Don't forget to R/R (Read and Review)!
Chapter Review: Mrs. Chagny so kicks ass. I believe she's the reason Raoul (and Philippe) is so great. We don't find out what the heck was going on with Raoul just yet. Growing pains perhaps. We'll see what happens in the next installment. Whatever it is, it's hurting both Philippe and Erik. It's not like they can really just force Raoul to stop being… well, whatever he's being right now. They don't know how to deal with him. :(
Sorry for having to break it up. I'm so annoyed with this chapter; it's hard to even put it into words. It feels sloppy, unfocused or maybe not focused enough. Idk.