Sorry for the delays; juggling university and singing, dancing and acting is fun but time consuming.
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters... yet.
Erik was stunned, to say the least, that he now found Christine quite peacefully asleep in his arms on the stone cold floor in the kitchen. The sensation was amazing and overpowering. His angel in his arms. Not his dreams but his real arms. Making himself properly know to Christine was showing to have many benefits...
There wasn't really any question of what he should do because as much as he'd like to sit on the floor holding Christine, both would end up cold and uncomfortable which would make for more irritated people; and irritation was not conducive to building a positive relationship with the angel in his arms.
Erik slowly and carefully stood, making as fluid and smooth movements as he could manage while transporting Christine back to her bed. Now wasn't the time to fuss over her day clothing, that would make for an uncomfortable conversation, but Erik did remove her shoes and tuck her underneath the covers.
Who knew how long she would sleep for, it was only mid afternoon, but her resting would give Erik valuable thinking time. Because, above all things, he needed some thinking time. Funnily enough, Erik had only really planned as far as presenting himself to Christine in flesh and blood- and not so much what he would do afterwards. Mainly this was because he could not for the life of him decide how she would react, and secondly because the thought of the many implications of being a 'living' human being and not a ghost were many and somewhat scary.
So far, things had worked out fairly well; considering Christine was still down in his lair and not hysterical. Her lack of knowing what she wanted was a little troubling but not wholly surprising. At least it gave them something to discuss.
Music! How could I forget my music? Erik thought suddenly as he found a short term solution to his dilemmas; he would simply compose while Christine slept. Playing music was the easiest and what Erik found to be the best way to pass time. He could engulf himself in melodies and harmonies, not real life problems.
Somehow Erik knew he would not be able to get out of this mess without Christine. Neither was going to come up with a perfect remedy to their peculiar situation on their own; they would have to work together for after all they were in this together.
Erik liked the sound of that. After never having a companion or someone to work with all his life-except for that annoying, arrogant Nadir (who of course was neither of those things)- Erik liked the thought of working in a partnership with Christine. He would probably be terrible at it; loneliness and selfishness are two things that go terrible together. But, Erik assured himself as he seated himself at the piano, it could be fun.
I could always take up drawing, he thought before he hammered out a melodious and only slightly discordant tune- softly of course- so as not to prematurely wake Christine, and ruin Erik's solo-'thinking' time.
Christine had made it clear she did not want to run away and cut all ties with Erik as if nothing had ever happened and as if they had no history together- no matter how mystical it seemed. Erik was not going to argue with that either. Although he knew he often got into depressed moods and felt the weight of his situation, when he brightened up a little the thought of letting Christine go when she was willing to stay seemed ludicrous. If she is happy to stay and work on whatever it is we have, so am I. I will work very hard, Erik thought.
And why am I still thinking about Christine and not about my music? he questioned as he watched his fingers effortlessly gloss over the piano while his brain was miles away. I am a talented chap who can do two things at once, but, this time I really want to stop thinking about the big picture and loose myself in my music...
And he did, and Christine again had the pleasure of waking up to a beautiful, sweet melody floating through the air and wafting throughout the various rooms in the house- cave, Christine corrected herself.
Yes, I am in a cave, below the ground. Surreal? Yes. Surprising? No- well not for Erik. Unsettling? A little.
Life was easier when I was just in the corps de ballet, Christine thought.
She slowly approached Erik and carefully scooted next to him as he continued to play, lost in his music, without noticing Christine's presence.
Certainly not willing to take off his mask a second time, she indulged in sitting silently and listening to him play. She was happy to wait for Erik to bring up the mask, and remove it in his own time. In the meantime, she would try to understand the man better so that the next time she saw the deformity it would be easier to look past- or look at.
Remembering all too well the sensation of resting on Erik's shoulder and sharing his warmth, she did exactly that, hoping it wouldn't disturb his playing- too much.
I could get used to this, she thought as she shut her eyes. So relaxing, so much at peace, so easy.
The comfort was not long lasting. Erik, wholly unused to having a beautiful woman- or any living being for that matter- resting on his shoulder could not shrug off the shock and stopped playing so he could concentrate on the sensation.
"And so the diva wakes. How are you Christine?" he asked in a much softer and huskier voice than he consciously thought to use.
As he looked down to see Christine with her eyes shut and a look of peaceful contentment on his face, he couldn't help but shiver. I could get used to this, he thought.
Note: As you have noticed, I have lightened the mood. I don't want this to be an overly dramatic fic. Really, as much as the story is pretty unbelievable, we are dealing with 'real' people, and I like to think that both Erik and Christine know how to lighten up.
I'd also like to note that while I appreciate people 'favouriting' my story... I also like reviews. :) Especially if they contain your opinion of the story, the characters, and constructive criticism.