Title: The Devil We Know
Summary: Christine Daae is the daughter of a recently deceased mafia boss. Suddenly, she finds herself toted as an up and coming gang leader, learning from the Phantom, a man who is feared by even the most powerful in the field as a notorious hit man. Will Christine find the strength to carve her own path, disregarding both darkness and light? Raoul's in it too. I guess.
Disclaimer: Phantom isn't copywritten any more, is it? I don't know. But the book belongs to Leroux and the musical belongs to Andrew Lloyd Webber. Regardless, Erik, Christine, and Raoul aren't my original characters.
Author's Note: The wait is over. Writer's block sucks hard and videogames really do eat a lot of time if you're not paying attention, but I do so love my Digital Devil Saga! Also, I just saw Phantom of the Opera in Vegas yesterday night. It was amazing and I got a shirt.
Chapter Fourteen: More Human
Erik leaned Christine against the bedroom door to kiss her heatedly and the door swung open under their combined weight. The momentum almost made them fall over, but he caught her before she could trip backwards over her own feet. The house was empty and quiet except for Christine's excited laughter as she returned his passionate, hurried kisses.
One arm wrapped around her waist, Erik used his free hand to throw shut the bedroom door. He kicked off his expensive, Brunori shoes and loosened his tie single-handedly while trying to keep their lips connected in a needy kiss. His multitasking made him trip and she pressed both hands against his chest to keep him from falling, the corners of her lips curling into a smile even as he continued their kiss.
When he broke to breathe, she giggled against his lips, gripping his suit by the lapels for balance. "Take me to the bed before we fall over ourselves. And I won't let you have me on the floor this time, barbarian."
He carried her the few steps to the bed and laid her carefully on top of the mattress. When he stood to take off his clothes, she hooked her hand onto the waist of his dress pants and yanked him down to the bed. Off balance, he hastily braced his arms on either side of her, trying to keep from falling on top of her. "What are you-"
Christine moved her hands under his suit jacket, helping him remove it and savoring the feel of his muscles working under his shirt. His hands sought the tie at her back, slipping the ribbon out of its bow. The silk shirt fell open, revealing her pale, beautiful skin, breasts hidden behind her bra made of black lace. He tugged the one glove remaining on his hand free and traced her skin lightly with his fingertips. Goosebumps rose where he trailed his touch and she shivered with anticipation.
His hand stopped at the healing wound on her left side and he carefully touched the stitches, both to see if she was still hurting and to explore the only imperfection on her body. She drew in a hiss of pain mingled with pleasure when he bent close to ghost a soft kiss over her injury.
While she was distracted, his hands moved to unhook her pants, tugging them down an inch before he suddenly stopped and sat back. She gazed at him in confusion as he raked his hand over the left portion of his face, a desperate look in his eyes. "Contraceptive!"
Christine's eyebrows drew together as she propped up on her elbows, her shirt hanging open and bra askew. "Wha?"
"Contraceptives! You know! Condoms, spermicide, pills, pulling out-"
Waving her hands, she interrupted his ranting. "Whoa, slow down. I know what the word means, you don't need to recite ever method known to man." She shrugged out of her shirt and his borrowed overcoat, tossing them to the floor. "I take it you don't have condoms on hand."
He looked at her as if she were insane. "What? No! Do I look like the kind of guy women want to sleep with?"
She shot him an exasperated expression, reaching up to remove his mask. "You do to me. Or at least, you look like the kind of guy I want to sleep with right now."
"But we don't have-"
Christine pressed a finger to his lips, cutting him off. "I'm on the pill, Erik. So we're fine."
"Pill? Wait, the birth control pill?!" This news upset him more.
"Yeah, I have been since I turned eighteen." She turned her attention to unbuttoning his dress shirt and managed to get the first button undone before his hand stopped her.
"Eighteen! What do- I mean- why are you taking it? Do you have sex with men often?!"
Christine gaped at him in shock and disbelief for a few seconds. When she overcame the first wave of mind numbing rage, she shoved him hard and pointed at him with her finger. "You ass! I take it to regulate my periods, if you MUST know! What the hell, Erik?!"
He seemed relieved by her words and intense reaction. "Oh, that's right. I read somewhere that the pill had other benefits- where are you going?"
Christine was squirming out from under him, reaching for her discarded shirt angrily. Erik placed both hands on her shoulder, stopping her from escaping. She glared up at him. "Do you think I'm some kind of slut?"
"I'm sorry, I was confused," he apologized, running a hand along her cheek and down her neck, noticing the tension in her jaw muscles. "I spoke without thinking. I know you're not a loose woman."
She turned her face away from him, still irritated by his assumption. His pathetic whine was already chipping away at her pride. When his lips skimmed over her throat, the tension dissolved from her muscles against her will. She tried to sound indignant as she grumbled, "Just ask next time. Don't assume that kind of stuff."
His mouth paused near her ear to reply, "You're right. I'm sorry. Your beauty ladles my brain. You are every man's dream… and you're here."
She ran a hand through his hair, arching up toward him until their bodies met. He had pulled her pants down around her knees and was using his thumb to tug her underwear down as well. Her hands returned to his shirt and fumbled with the ungodly number of buttons. She moaned in complaint when she saw his undershirt beneath the dress shirt. "I'll be damned if you don't know how to layer."
When she tried to get him to take off the long sleeve, unbuttoned dress shirt, he hesitated for a moment before slipping out of it. He dropped it to the floor and when he glanced up he saw her staring with wide eyes at the disfigured flesh that extended down the right side of his neck and chest, covering the whole of his right arm. She reached out to tug his undershirt over his head to see the rest of his scarred skin.
Christine examined his deformed, ugly skin, running her fingers from his right temple down to the palm of his right hand. The arm had a slightly atrophied appearance, like there was no meat to protect his bones and tendons from pressing into the surface of his skin. She was amazed at his strength despite the weak look of his arm. Her hand fluttered up from his arm to touch his right pectoral, also misshapen by the birth defect.
A shiver shook his body and she glanced up at him to find his eyes closed and eyebrows drawn together in a look torn between sadness and bliss. She cupped his face in both hands and peered up at him as he opened his eyes. "What's the matter?"
"I don't know what to feel." He rested his forehead against hers. "I would have been happy with any type of love, but this…"
"I do love you, Erik."
"But why?" he asked, hesitantly. "I'm not handsome."
"Well, when you say you love me, is it only because of how I look?" Christine returned his question with one of her own, locking her hands together behind his head. "Appearances never last. To be loved only because you're beautiful is just as sad as being hated because you're ugly."
He stared down at her with admiring eyes, then bent forward, covering her lips with a soft, affectionate kiss. Warmth flooded through her at the tenderness behind his actions. She nibbled at his bottom lip as the kiss ended, her hands roaming to his waist. She deftly unclasped the button on his pants and slipped them and the boxers down. Soon they were both completely naked, physically equal with no secrets between them.
His chest pressed down on hers as he steadied his weight on his knees between her parted legs. When he moved his chest to brace his elbows on the bed at her shoulders, her nipples perked as his skin brushing lightly over hers. Using one hand, he cupped one of her breasts, running his thumb over the rosy peak. Christine squirmed under his touch, impatient and needy.
She grasped at his back with both hands, her pretty, rounded nails scratching lightly on his skin. His eyelids drooped shut, head lolling back slightly as he enjoyed every new sensation they shared. A moment later, his mouth was on her skin, kissing and nipping at her collarbone, moving down toward her breasts as his hand trailed along her smooth stomach and lower still.
His hand brought goosebumps to her flesh despite its warmth and she shivered as his fingers played along her lower belly. She jolted in surprise when he reached his goal. Moaning with desire, she clutched at his shoulders while he caressed her intimately, heightening her arousal. Just when she neared an orgasm, he moved to rest between her legs, bracing his weight on his elbows and knees.
They groaned in unison as he slid into her. How many times had he imagined this very moment? Her naked skin on his, the warmth shared and passionate embrace of her arms and legs wrapped around him…
It wasn't until she wiggled her hips from beneath him that he realized he was holding her tight with his head pressed into the crook of her neck. The flowery, feminine scent of her invaded his senses as he ran his hands up her thighs, wrapping her legs firmly around his waist. With each thrust of his hips, she surged up to meet him, her breath coming in short gasps of pleasure.
From this angle, she could see all of his horrible imperfections. His eyebrows furrowed slightly in a mix of concentration and pleasure, dark eyes hooded yet still focused on her. The mangled skin on the right half of his face was ugly. Half of his lip was twisted upward in a strange, permanent grimace. But the flush of his cheeks and the way his black hair fell forward in strands made her heart race faster.
Erik was always so composed and professional. To be anything else was a weakness. And yet here he was, rolling in bed with her, his hair a mess and mask thrown aside. His trust was precious to her. And for all his deformity, the look on his face was oddly sexy.
"Erik-" She grabbed his shoulders as she climaxed, her whole body tensing as the waves of pleasure swept through her.
He crushed his lips against hers to stifle a groan as his body finally found release. He held her close for a few more moments until she whispered in his ear, "I love you."
Erik placed another kiss on her lips before pulling away to grab the blankets from where they were bundled at the foot of the bed. While he was drawing the blanket over them, he paused to glance at where his mask lay on floor across the room. Christine was stretching lethargically when she noticed Erik pause and followed his gaze to see what he was looking at.
Sitting up, she latched her arms around his neck to drag him back down. "Come here, you. You're not getting out of bed until tomorrow morning."
"But the light…" he started, glancing toward the switch by the door. Sighing, Christine jumped up and quickly moved across the room to turn off the light. Then she climbed back into bed and curled up under the blankets, nestling close to his chest within his arms.
Erik woke when he reached over and found the other side of the bed empty. He grabbed the wadded up blanket and pulled it back only to find Christine missing. Sighing, he rubbed his eyes and glanced at the digital clock on the nightstand. It was already ten o'clock in the morning, but so far as he knew, Christine had nothing pressing to take care of.
He dressed and put on his mask before heading downstairs. Christine and Nadir sat at the kitchen table, though they weren't talking. Christine was busy eating a bowl of cereal and she glanced up happily when Erik entered. Nadir crossed his arms and scowled at him silently.
Fixing his tie idly, Erik walked over to where Christine sat and leaned down to kiss her on the lips. He plopped down on the seat next to her, he sent her a small almost embarrassed smile. "Good morning."
Christine's face and neck flushed red as she stammered, "Y-yeah. You too."
Nadir glared at them for a moment before making a disgusted noise and rolling his eyes. "I'm happy for you two. Really. I mean, sure, you danced around each other long enough for me to have had sex with a few hundred ladies, but who's keeping track? Right? Right."
Before they could respond, he railed on, angrily punctuating his words with jerky hand movements. "You could have told me you weren't coming back to the club. You left me with Erik's crazy ass mom for three whole hours! That's how long it took for me to realize you guys weren't coming back."
Nadir finally ran out of breath, ending his rant for the time being. Erik shrugged and leaned back in his chair. "Don't wait for me to feel bad for you. Nothing you say will bother me today."
"Do you really want me to try? Because I can." Nadir muttered, rubbing his scalp as he looked away. Christine tried not to laugh as she finished the last of her breakfast and took the bowl to the sink. "I don't know what you're so happy about. You're robbing the grave here."
Christine rinsed the bowl and set it in the dishwasher before turning around to face him. "Jealous much, Nadir? You should hold out for quality once in a while."
Nadir reached into his jacket and pulled out a stapled set of papers that had been folded in half to fit in the pocket. He waved the papers in the air once. "While you two were busy making babies, I was doing big people work."
He slapped the papers onto the table top in front of Christine as she took her seat again. Arching an eyebrow at him, she flipped through the papers. "What's this? It's a bunch of addresses."
"Genius. Yes, they're addresses. It's a list of houses that fit the prerequisites you and Erik requested for your new home. Your assistant e-mailed it to me early this morning and I printed it out for you," Nadir watched her as she huddled close to Erik to let him read over her shoulder. "Ugh. Newlyweds make my skin crawl."
"Don't be such a downer, Nadir," Christine said, grinning at him over the papers. "Hey, you know what? Since Erik and I have to check out all these houses today, why don't you take the day off? To make up for leaving you at Madame Giry's last night."
Nadir stuck his lower lip out and slumped in his chair, arms crossed. He would not be fooled so easily. "You just want me out of the house so you can have some more hot sex, don't you?"
"It had crossed my mind," Christine replied with only a tiny bit of remorse. Most of her brain was occupied with thoughts of how better her time could be spent. Most of the activities involved various surfaces, her and Erik, and no clothing. Shaking her head to clear the distracting images, she added, "But I do need to look at these houses. I want to make my decision today."
Nadir shrugged and turned to Erik, who had taken the papers from Christine and was inspecting the information. "You down with this?"
"What? Having more sex?" Erik replied, glancing up from the paper for a second to meet Nadir's eyes before shrugging and returning to his reading. "Could be worse."
"Taking one for the team. What a saint." Nadir was already standing from his chair, obviously irritated and in need of some sleep. "No. Are you fine with taking over the bodyguard duties today?"
"I'll survive. Go home and rest," Erik set the papers down on the table to give Nadir his full attention and spoke in a gruff voice. "You shouldn't have waited up for us last night."
"Well, sorry for worrying about my friends. Any number of things could have happened to you guys." Nadir's frown deepened as his eyebrows furrowed in anger, but after a moment he exhaled and his expression softened. "Sorry, just… I've lost too many people lately."
Erik nodded and he and Christine stood up to walk Nadir out. Eyes following Christine's hands as she wrapped them through Nadir's arm, Erik felt a surprising stab of jealousy at her touching another man. She smiled at Nadir as he opened the front door and waved him away. "Get some rest, Nadir. If you need anything, call me."
"Take care of yourself," Erik said, getting Nadir's attention as he tried to leave. "Who else is supposed to keep her out of trouble?"
"Thanks," Nadir replied, the lines around his eyes standing out from stress and fatigue. He shut the door behind himself and Christine turned to Erik, worriedly.
"Will he be okay? Does he have anyone to turn to now?" Christine leaned against the door, resting her head back. "I can relate. We both lost the last of our family on the same day. Who do we have left, you know? It really gets to you."
Erik watched her wrap her arms around her stomach and bow her head, drawing into herself. He braced one hand on the wall near her head and leaned forward to lock the door. As he pulled away to stand up again, she threw her arms around his neck and yanked him back down to her kiss him soundly on the lips. He stepped in close, forcing her back against the door. Their bodies were pressed flush together, he could feel every inch of her curves against his flesh.
"We need to look at those houses…" he protested weakly, lips hovering near hers. In response, she rubbed her leg along the inside of his thigh and smiled suggestively. Groaning, he kissed her again and then grabbed her hand to lead her toward the stairs. "Fine, you win."
Hours later, Erik and Christine were walking down the street belonging to one of the houses on the list. They had looked at about half of the houses and Erik was still making notes for the last one. As they walked back to the car, he wrote down all the renovations that the house would need for security before they could move in.
By the looks of his pen flitting frantically across the paper, Christine had a feeling there was a lot lacking in the security of this particular house. "What's the verdict?"
"Hm… it needs a better gate around the perimeter, cameras installed at all the entrance and exit points, a speaker at the gate to allow visitors to announce themselves… guard dogs wouldn't hurt." He added, slowly as his remembered the house. "It was probably the worst so far. It was a pretty house, but the security system was… well, almost nonexistent."
"I noticed you were taking more notes than usual," Christine sighed as they walked side by side toward the car. Reaching over, she tried to take his hand in hers, but when their hands touched, he quickly jerked away, distancing himself from her.
"Sorry, I wasn't trying to hold your hand," he assured her awkwardly.
"Oh, don't worry about it," she said, grabbing his hand and interlocking their fingers. "I mean, you are my boyfriend now, so it's fine if you hold my hand."
"I am no boy," the corner of his lips twitched upward in a barely contained smile and he squeezed her hand lightly.
Christine laughed and hugged his arm as she continued to hold his hand. "You're right. Boyfriend just doesn't suit you. So what do I call you?"
Confused, he ventured, "Erik? My name?"
"Well, I can't call you 'my Erik.'"
"Why not?" He replied, sounding slightly hurt.
"It sounds like I'm talking about my son or something! A kid. And we just agreed that you weren't a boy." She let go of his arm when they reached the car and he unlocked her door to hold it open for her.
"You can call me your 'gentleman friend.' If it makes you happy." He shut the door after she got in and walked around to climb into the driver's seat.
"No way! That makes you sound old." She complained, wrinkling her nose with disdain. As he turned the key revving the car to life, he shot her an arched eyebrow look that made her pout. She muttered, "Older anyway. Like 50 or something."
"That's only 12 years older than I am now," he replied, driving down the residential streets toward the main avenue. The clock blinked off the time as 3:00 P.M., and Erik realized they had been house hunting for four hours already. "Are you hungry, Christine? We only have one more house on the list, so we can get something to eat if you want."
"What? Yes! Definitely!" She caught onto the offer eagerly, eyes bright. "Let's go to a restaurant."
He glanced at her as he started driving toward one of his favorite restaurants. She was sitting happily in her seat, grinning as she all but bounced up and down. "Why are you so happy?"
"What? A girl can't be happy for no reason?" She asked, watching out the window as the scenery zoomed passed. "This is a big step for us. Not only have I not gotten a chance to go out with you just for fun, but I don't think I've seen you eat once. I was beginning to wonder if you photosynthesize or something."
"Are you serious? That's absurd. I must have eaten in front of you. What about this morning? You ate cereal." He offered helpfully.
"Yeah, I ate cereal. You didn't eat anything, like usual."
He paused, a look of confusion on his face for a moment before he shook his head, waving his hand. "Naw. That can't be right. You probably don't remember, because it's not a big deal."
"No. No, I'm sure. I've seen you drink things. Alcohol or water, you know. But I've never seen you eat food and that's something I've been looking forward to."
"Well, let's remedy that, shall we?"
Erik held up the list of houses and his pen as they walked up to the gate outside of the large home. Christine gazed at the house through the tall, elegant rod iron gate and whistled low. The front lawn sprawled for nearly fifty yards of beautifully tended grass and flowers, obviously professionally landscaped.
"May I help you?" The voice from the speaker outside of the gates made Christine jump back in surprise.
Erik nodded appreciatively as he mentally ticked off the security prerequisites. So far, this house was proving to be the best they'd seen with its imposing, strong fence, two way visitor's speaker, and large front lawn with a circular driveway. It just figured that Nadir would have put it last on the list of prospective homes.
Christine leaned close to the speaker and pressed the button as she said, "Yes, my name is Christine Daae and I'm here to look at the house."
"Oh, Miss Daae! I'll ring you in right now and come out to meet you," the voice assured her. The gate swung open, allowing them to enter. The paved driveway stretched on and circled in front of the house. As he walked, Erik glanced around in crucial spots only to find security cameras in place.
"Excellent," he mused under his breath right as a woman in a fancy blouse and knee-length, pleaded skirt and modest heels walked out of the front door.
The real estate agent smiled brightly as she reached out and took Christine's hand in a friendly handshake. "Hello, I'm Haley, and I'll be showing you around this lovely home today."
Christine stared around the front lawn, admiring the white bark birch tree and all the flowers near the house. She followed the real estate woman up the stairs leading to the ornately carved, double doors. On top of both banisters there was a bronze statue of an angel with wings outstretched.
When they entered, Erik patted Christine's shoulder and said, "I'm going to take inventory of the rest of the house's security."
She nodded without looking at him as she was entranced by the gleam of the newly polished, deep wood flooring in the front room. Erik left to tour the house alone while Christine stared from the floor up to the high, gothic arched ceiling. "Wow, this is amazing! Everything's so beautiful! Look at this furniture- it's so soft!"
She ran her hand along the back of the cream colored sofa in the living room and paused to enjoy the softness of the fabric. Haley spoke as she fixed a wrinkle in the dark brown throw blanket draped over the armrest, "Yes, this home comes fully furnished by our talented interior decorator. Most of the house is done in rich, earthy tones, but if you have a preferred color scheme, we can change it to suit your tastes."
Christine gaped at the woman, dumbstruck. "Really? So if I wanted the walls green and floors pink, you'd do it?"
Haley laughed and wrinkled her nose. "Anything for Miss Daae. Your father has purchased many of our custom homes in the past, which makes you a valued customer."
They went upstairs only to stop at an open door leading into a spacious room with dark brown, plush carpeting. Erik stood in the middle of the room, his hand on his chin as he surveyed the sturdy, antique bookshelves lining one whole wall. Against the opposite wall was a four post, canopy bed with bronze material draped over the posts. He glanced over at Christine as she walked in. "This house is perfect. The only things we need to change are the windows. We'll have to replace the glass with bullet-proof plastic."
"I know, it's amazing! And it's beautiful." Christine gushed happily. "There's even a guest house out back, so that when we kick Nadir out, he doesn't have to sit in his car until the next morning."
"Nadir isn't living in the guest house." Erik stated, affronted at the idea. "He has a home. Let him go there."
"Yeah, but if he doesn't want to drive all the way across town, that'll be a place for him to stay. Or if I have company over." She ventured, eyeing the room they were in. "Why are you in here?"
"Oh," he said, turning back to stare at the bookshelf with an appreciative look. "If I am going to be living with you, then I want this room."
She arched one eyebrow as she smirked at him. "You think I'm not going to be sharing a room with you? How cute. We'll have the master bedroom together."
Haley recognized the warning signs of an oncoming quarrel and quickly backed out of the room. "I'll just go grab some refreshments from the kitchen."
Christine barely noticed the woman as she escaped back downstairs. Crossing her arms, she asked, "Why do you want your own room?"
"This would make a good office. There's enough room for a desk, and I can keep my clothes in the walk in closet so you can use the closet in the master bedroom. And the bed is nice." He sat down on the bed as if to prove his point. Skeptically, she crossed the room and plopped down on the mattress beside him.
"It IS a nice mattress," she admitted begrudgingly.
"Yes, so maybe we can sleep in here once in a while." He patted the bed lovingly. "Because it's so nice."
"Sure," she shrugged, bouncing on the mattress lightly.
As if remembering something, Erik glanced in the direction of the door and quickly shut it. "I have a surprise for you."
Christine remained seated on the bed, grinning. "If you want to christen the bed, you're going to have to wait until the real estate agent isn't here. I mean, unless you get excited thinking she's just downstairs."
Erik froze at this, confused and shocked, before blinking out of his Christine-induced stupor. "What? No! Hold out your hand and close your eyes."
Sighing, she closed her eyes. "Oh, is that they way you like it?"
"What are you talking about? Stop doing that! I got you a present, I had to look everywhere to find one that would suit you. I wanted it to be perfect for you."
"Oh my God!" Without opening her eyes, Christine held out her hand palm down, as if waiting for a ring to be slipped onto her finger. Erik took her hand and turned it palm up before placing a heavy, metal object into her hand. She had to close her hand to keep from dropping the hefty item.
"Open your eyes!" He said and she found a semi-automatic pistol grasped in her hand. She glanced up at him in confusion, but there was a look of anticipation on his face as he awaited her reaction. "I got you a gun, since you were wanting one so badly. And look-"
He pointed to the barrel of the gun where an elegant script was engraved into the metal. "I took it to Things Remembered to get it engraved. You should have seen the look on the employee's face when I placed the order."
Christine ran her finger along the swirly font cut on the barrel that read her name. He continued quietly, "I wanted it to be special, so I named it after you."
It wasn't a ring. But the thought and attention he had placed in finding her a proper gun that fit her grip without being too heavy touched her heart. She stood and kissed the corner of his lips. "Thank you so much."
"Yes, well," he reached out and gently pried the gun from her fingers before slipping it back into the holster at his thigh, hidden behind his long overcoat. "Now maybe after you practice for a month, I'll let you fire it."