The full Summary: When Gustave Daae decided to settle down and give his daughter Christine a semi-normal life, he needed a little help paying for their home. He was directed to the infamous Erik Arquette after failing to get the loans he applied for. The gang leader was more than willing to cover the rest of the cost. Years later, Gustave had forgotten all about his debts. He's given an out and he takes it. All that it cost him was his daughter's hand in marriage. I opted to set this in the 1950s.
Erik stood in front of the mirror, ignoring the masked side of his face to the best of his abilities. He couldn't trust any of his men to give him an honest opinion on his suit and Nadir would simply mock him for worrying. Especially when he barely knew his soon to be bride.
Barely was a bit of an understatement seeing as he'd only seen photographs of her before now. Gustave made quite the proud papa. If only he was just as good about paying up when he owed something. Christine seemed to be quite the looker and he knew she would be even more of one in person. There was no way the black and white state of the photo could do her justice. He would find out for sure today.
While it was usually considered bad luck to see the bride this close to the wedding, he didn't care. He needed to collect her tonight before Gustave got smart or warned her. He couldn't have that. It would be a shame to end such a kind man. He respected him but he couldn't let such things go unpunished. People would believe that he might be losing his edge and he couldn't risk that at all.
He headed out without a word and hopped into his cherry red Corvette. Within moments, he was pulling out of his driveway and on to the road. He enjoyed the way the breeze felt upon the unmasked side of his face. He could already picture how those curls of hers would get caught in the wind while she rode beside him. He could almost picture her giggling as he sped down an empty road, just the two of them and whatever happened to be playing on the radio.
But he couldn't let himself get caught up in these idealistic thoughts. He had to actually meet the woman and marry her first. Who knew what it would be like after that. She could be incredibly difficult for all he knew. That would be horrible for his line of business. It was best that she had only the vaguest idea of what went on. It would ensure her safety.
When Erik arrived at their quaint little home, he got out of his car. Both himself and the vehicle looked out of place but it was to be expected. He approached the door and knocked, pushing past Gustave without waiting for permission to enter when the door was opened. He was usually much, much more polite with his business partners. However, Gustave had yet to completely enter his good graces and he wouldn't. Not until Christine Daae was legally Christine Arquette.
He surveyed the room, ignoring the feeling of the other man's glare burning through him. He noted an older woman on the sofa, figuring she must be some sort of family friend. There was no way that it was Gustave's wife as he'd told him before that she was deceased. He mentally marked her as unimportant and continued his search for the woman that he'd seen in photographs. His irritation spiked when he failed to find her.
"Where is your daughter, Daae? You better hope for your sake that none of you tried something stupid." Erik sneered, whirling on heel to face him.
He reached in his pocket, pulling out both a pack of cigarettes and a lighter. He placed the smoke between his lips and lit it. He didn't care that it was bad for his health or his voice. What was the purpose of having talent when it could never be used, especially looking the way he did. He blew out the smoke as he waited for an answer, chuckling quietly when he heard the older wench's annoyed sigh.
"She's upstairs. Antionette.. make yourself useful and go get her." Gustave barked, taking his annoyance out on the safest option. There was another huff from the woman as she stood and complied, giving them both a rather nasty look.
It didn't bother Erik at all, in fact all he had simply arched his visible brow in response to such a look. He waited patiently as he could manage, shoving his hands into his pockets to conceal his impatience. It was an effort well rewarded when the woman in question hesitantly made her way down the stairs. Antionette was ignored as Erik drank the sight of his bride in.
The chestnut curls, the pale green eyes, the porcelain skin. All of it drew him in. When she was close enough to him, he proceeded to circle her slightly, needing to take her in from all angles. While the simple blue dress that she wore left a lot to his imagination, he could appreciate her curves. Especially the curves that made up her ass, hips and breasts.
"Anything you want to tell this hot piece of ass, daddy dearest?" Erik hinted, finally breaking the silence. He delighted at the way her eyes widened and those cheeks flushed in response to his comment.
Gustave looked like he was ready to blow a gasket or throw a punch, but he wouldn't because he knew better. He shifted from foot to foot when his daughter looked at him, sighing heavily.
"Christine, you're going to be going with Mr. Arquette. You're going to become his wife." Gustave informed, sounded tortured as he admitted this. His distress grew when Christine's bottom lip wobbled, her eyes becoming damp.
Antionette moved to comfort her, but before she could do so Erik wrapped his arm around Christine's stiff shoulder, tugging her into his side. The man's glare was enough to make the older woman stop in her tracks, but it didn't stop her from glaring back.
"Come on, little bird. We really must be going. I'll come back for whatever you ask of me tomorrow. Aside from your wardrobe, of course." Erik informed, guiding her out the door. He tossed his half-smoked cigarette onto the carpet as left. He could only imagine the look on their faces as they rushed to crush it out.
Christine still hadn't said a word nearly the whole ride back to his place, though she did sniffle occasionally. He would've broke the silence if he could but he didn't know what to say. When they pulled into his driveway, he reached over and cupped her chin. He turned her head, forcing her to make eye contact.
"When we get in, I want you to make a list of all your sentimental things. I meant what I said. I will go back for them tomorrow." Erik assured, using his thumb to brush away a tear. He was relieved that she leaned into the touch, even if everything else about her gave away her uncertainty.
"Alright." Christine murmured, breaking her silence finally. It was perhaps the sweetest sound he'd heard in his whole life. He nodded and let go, getting out of the car. He walked around to open the passenger side for her.
A few moments later, he lead her inside and headed off to go get her some paper and something to write with. It wasn't much, but it was a start in his opinion.