Erik woke to find Christine sobbing, it was a surprise, and quite a way to wake, but he was unsure of what to do. He did not want to wake her up with a push, that might frighten her even more than she already was.

He put his hands on her shoulders gently, " Christine, " He sang softly, the girl shot up in surprise " Angel?! " she whisper shouted. He brushed his hands through her hair " calm down, you were crying "

She buried her head into his shoulder and started sobbing again, Erik sighed, " Bad dream? " she nodded stiffly. He wrapped his arms around her " what was it about? " He asked.

" I-I don't want to talk about it "

Erik hummed " Sometimes it helps to talk about these things " she sighed nuzzling into his chest. " Well, I was on the stage- and...it was dark, and I saw you " he watched the wall steadily, he did not want to make her uncomfortable by looking at her. " But then, there was a gunshot- a-and " He heard her sob into his coat, he traced a finger over her back in a circular motion. '' Y-You were on the ground, because you jumped in front of me- "

" oh, Christine " he sighed sitting up, cautious about her leg " it wasn't real, nothing is going to touch you or me " he explained. She looked up to him slowly, " Promise? " he smiled " I promise " it was a promise he knew he couldn't keep, things happen and unfortunately you can't stop them, it was something he learnt over the years, no matter what happens, the world keeps spinning. Erik grabbed a small golden watch from his pocket, " 4:27, here hold this for me " he put the watch into her palm. Upon closer inspection, there was a gold floral pattern around a beautiful silver diamond in the middle.

Her breath hitched slightly, tracing her fingers over the lines, leaning back into Erik. " Where did you get this? " She asked not bothering to look up to him shoulders slouching as she let herself relax, Erik smiled fondly at her " one of the many things I have collected over the years my dear "

She grabbed his hand, he quirked at her touch " Angel? " She said nothing putting the watch back into his palm. She pressed a kiss down onto his hand tiredly, " C-can you keep reading the story? " He reached for the book he set on the coffee table, again he held it in front of her leaning over her shoulder. " Now, where were we? "

—————

Erik's home has always been very cold, he grew used to it he had only ever lit a fire in the wintertime, but he always made sure to have the fire up and going since Christine moved in. Christine had been so intrigued by her new book Erik got her, she didn't even realize how late it was. When she glanced up at the clock, she almost dropped the book when it read eleven-forty seven PM.

She closed the book and set it on the table beside her, Erik had been gone for hours now. She was still angry at him for earlier, he had been brushing her off lately and she had just about enough of it. He said he went to go deliver some more letters to the managers and left her without another word, but that was around 5 hours ago! She looked towards the gated up entrance, he kept it up when he left to be sure nobody would sneak in, but she knew other ways out and was able to come and go as she pleased.

She relaxed gratefully when his large heavy boots hit the stone floor, " Erik- " she pulled her skirts up and turned to face him ready to give him a long lecture. She froze at the sight of him, he was hunched over leaning against the wall breaths coming slow and shallow and his fedora was hiding most of his face.

" Erik, where on earth have you been? " She asked sternly crossing her arms, she didn't want to seem worried she was supposed to be angry with him! She tilted her chin upwards rolling her shoulders back trying to look mad. Erik pressed his lips together to hold back an annoyed sigh, he rolled his eyes and once again, promptly brushed her off trudging into the next room.

Christine felt the veins in her neck throbbing, her face flushed and she jutted her chin, she whipped around with a fuming glare. " I Will not be ignored! " She hollered stomping her foot. He stopped, she finally took a moment to take a breath. She then realized why he was limping.

She could see his thigh twitching, his left leg was levitated slightly to avoid walking on it. He gave her a cold look before continuing his journey to the kitchen, where they kept the medical supplies. " Erik, no sit on the couch, I'll get some water and bandages " he nodded, raising his left arm up and over her head to lean on her shoulder. She let him use her as a support in order to get to the couch.

He flopped down with a groan, throwing his head back whilst Christine put his injured leg onto the coffee table. She had twisted her ankle by mistake on numerous occasions during the ballet, and she had learned how to deal with it.

She returned with a bucket of water, some badges, and a towel was hung over her shoulder. " How did it happen? " she asked, tone impressionable as she soaked the towel in the bucket.

He blinked, eyelids heavy " I slipped in a trap " he mumbled under his breath, surely she would laugh and mock him for falling into one of his own traps! That's why he had put exits, that we're very hard to actually access.

Christine noticeably tensed and her eyes met his, " Are you alright? Besides your foot, I mean " Erik hummed gravely, running a hand through her matted curls. " You don't need to worry so much, I am fine, the only other injury I have is a bruise on my side "

He hissed clenching his jaw slightly when she put the towel over his ankle, " Must it be so cold? " He questioned glaring at her. She brushed him off with a shake of her head and sighed, " Oh, stop it I'm helping you "

She pulled him up enough so she could tug at his jacket, he helped her slide it off his shoulders and she lay it on another chair in the room. " Where is the bruise? " She asked and began to pull his shirt up.

His eyes widened at her sudden request, " Oh, no, no, no, no, no, no " he began to squirm away from her. She grabbed his hip firmly, he gasped out in pain and she pulled his pants down, not enough to reveal anything she didn't need to see, but enough to make her cover her mouth when met with a large swollen purple mark on his right hip.

" Erik! Oh my god! " the man groaned throwing his head to the opposite side refusing to meet her eyes. She went to get up so fast, she slipped and doubled over landing on her arms. He lifted himself up to glance down at her hunched form, in obvious pain running out of the room to get another towel.

He shook his head, that women was going to be the death of herself, and would kill him from having to stop it from happening. " Oh - Ah! Christine! Cease the cold towels! " He clenched his fists tight enough they turned white.

She didn't respond rubbing her forehead in stress, " Christine, you mustn't worry so much about me " he titled his head. He raised a brow when she sniffled, " I-I, oh you fool! I was so worried about you! You were gone for hours! "

" oh Christine, come here " he sighed eventually, she complied pulling herself up and onto the expensive couch. He wrapped an arm around her drawing her into his chest, he pressed a sweet dry kiss to her temple rubbing her shoulder affectionately.

" I love you "

She smiled, " I love you too "