this is one of my phantom of the opera oneshots that I've posted on, Tumblr, AO3 and fanfiction.net (where you can check me out - nerdywriter36 :D) and decided to bring over here as well :)

~

Erik lay in bed, staring up at the ceiling of the room that Adele Giry had provided him with as he tried to plan out his next move. For once, running from his enemies, his past, his demons wasn't an easy decision, and it was all because of the woman lying in his arms.

Because of her.

The last few days had all been a blur. Though not much stuck out besides the ultimatum he had given to Christine and the battle with the Vicomte for her affections...and the two kisses she gave him. After that - after he watched them go - it was all dark; he had simply gone through the motions to escape the mob, taken Madame Giry's offer of sanctuary without question. Without her, nothing mattered to him.

But then, she came back.

The Girys - Adele and her nosy little daughter - had gone out to begin looking for ways to arrange passage out of Paris, having told Erik they would be gone that night and the following day. What they had failed to tell him about, though, was the visitor that would also be spending the night in their home...

~

"Why are you here?" Erik asked, keeping his voice quiet as he made an effort to ensure it wouldn't break as he stared at her - her.

"I-I had to see you for myself," Christine said meekly. Her feet were shuffling on the carpet, a curl twirled around her finger, he noticed; she was nervous.

"To confirm that I was as broken and humiliated by my actions as you presumed I was? Well, here you are. Now go." Oh, but how badly he wanted her to stay.

Before he could make another move, though, she was standing in front of him, her hands gripping his lapels to keep him in place before her. "I came because I feel terrible about how we parted. I care for you too much to allow us to part ways on such horrific terms, no matter what happened," she admitted, looking up at him with her brown eyes filled with tears.

His heart ached to see her in such pain, knowing he had caused that. So it was then that he made a move to do what he wished he could have done so many times before; he reached up to brush a stray tear from her cheek and wrapped a shaky arm around her waist to hold her close to his chest. He could not even believe he was doing it; his heart was beating so hard against his chest that he was sure she could feel it, tell how nervous he was.

"To leave you...to have to watch you go knowing what I had done to you brought on a feeling of guilt and heartbreak as I have never known before," he whispered. "I could apologize a thousand times over and it will never be enough to make me worthy of your forgiveness, but you must know, my angel, that I truly am sorry."

She nodded silently, her hand lifting to brush his cheek just briefly. "I know you are. I can see it in your eyes," she said softly.

And then, hardly a moment after she'd spoken, her lips met his.

~

Erik couldn't help but smile at that. She'd kissed him again, of her own free will, with no life on the line. That one kiss still shocked him, never mind what followed; their kisses quickly growing more passionate, their stumbling feet as they found their way back to his bedroom. Christine's quiet sigh when his kisses trailed from her lips to her neck. Her fingers swiftly undoing the buttons of his shirt and trousers and-

He shook his head to clear his mind when he felt his face flush; he couldn't make a plan to leave if he reflected all the compelling reasons for him to stay.

Turning his head, Erik couldn't help but sigh and smile fondly at the sight of Christine sleeping next to him; her brown curls were messy and strewn about across her pillow, her lips pursed slightly and still swollen from his kisses the night before.

Just looking at her made the thought of getting out of bed horrific.

But, making up his mind, Erik slowly got to his feet and retrieved his clothes from where they'd been tossed about. Slipping his drawers on, he picked up his shirt to straighten it out and-

"Erik?"

He froze at the sound of her voice. Why he had not considered the potential for her to wake up, he couldn't say. Now, though, hearing her use his true name rather than a mere title made an already difficult decision even harder to make.

"Yes?" he made himself ask, though he kept his back to her, knowing that if he turned back to gaze upon what was forbidden to him, he would be no different from the wife of Lot; like a pillar of salt, stuck in place as he looked back at what he desired most out of anything.

"What are you doing? W-where are you going?" Christine asked quietly.

With a sigh, Erik simply shook his head as he slipped his shirt on. "Just go back to sleep my angel," he replied, hardly able to make himself say the words.

A moment of silence passed before Christine came to the inevitable realization: "Are you...leaving?"

"Christine..." Erik sighed as he finally turned back to face her. She was sitting up now, the bedsheets wrapped around her torso. He almost had to laugh; for once, they were completely exposed around each other, both physically and emotionally speaking. And yet, his heart ached as he watched the walls they had finally broken down quickly start to be rebuilt. "I didn't-"

"You didn't what? Think? Consider how I would feel when I woke up and found you gone?" Christine demanded.

There was something in her eyes, Erik noticed, something he recognized. The same fire and anger and...heartbreak from that night beneath the Opera House. It was a look he had never wanted to see again, especially not after witnessing her look at him with the adoration and longing as she had the night before.

"Please, Christine, I'm-"

"I gave you everything, both last night and in all those days before that!" Her perfect voice was breaking, tears filling her eyes. "I gave you my heart, my soul, my voice, and now, I have given myself to you in every sense of the word! That is only meant to be given to my husband - the man I am supposed to marry in a matter of hours - but I gave it to you because I love you and wanted to share it with you and only you, now and for the rest of my life! But if you are too stubborn and blind to accept that, then just...just go."

Erik's eyes were wide, not having heard a word after those three words he never thought she would say to him flowed from her lips.

"Y-you...what?" he breathed, his brow creasing as he looked back at her with eyes pleading for an answer, for confirmation.

"I love you," she whispered as she climbed out of bed, the sheet left behind as she walked over to him and took his hand when he tried to take a step away from her. "Please believe me when I say that, Erik, please."

"I...I just never could have dreamed you would say those words to me," Erik replied. His eyes, now filled with tears of his own, were locked on hers, even as her hands slid over his chest and pushed his shirt off of his shoulders again.

She smiled up at him, then took a step back and slipped her engagement ring off, gently setting it down atop the dresser. "It's not a dream, my angel," she said softly.

"Then let me say how much I love you too," Erik whispered, reaching her side in two strides and cupping her face in his hands to pull her into a kiss. "And if you'll let me, I would be happy to show you as well."

"Oh, please do."

~

"Well," Christine said, glancing at the small alarm clock on the nightstand before she set her head back on Erik's chest, "I am officially late for my own wedding."

Erik laughed quietly at that. "You don't sound all that bothered about leaving the boy at the altar."

"That's not it," Christine said softly. "I do love Raoul, but...not the same way I love you, I've realized. Not to mention that I would have had to abandon music had I married him, and his family never has and never will approve of me."

"Well, they have no idea what they are missing," Erik replied as he tipped her chin up to lean down and kiss her. It was a gentle gesture, lazy almost, both parties too deep in a state of bliss and pleasant tiredness to initiate anything more passionate.

"Besides, I have what I need here; love and music...and you."

Erik couldn't help but smile, gently brushing a stray curl from her face. "And I have you to love and keep my bed warm and entertain me at night with your sleep talking."

Gasping quietly, Christine lifted her head to look him in the face. "I do nothing of the sort!"

"Oh, my angel, you do," Erik replied with a quiet laugh. "Not much of it makes sense, but it is noticeable when it's right by my ear."

"Well, you know what else is noticeable? You're constantly moving while you sleep!" Christine retorted, trying to sound annoyed despite the giggles breaking up her sentence.

"How is that possible? I am a very still sleeper; I learned to be over the years for my own safety," Erik said, his smile only growing when he saw how happy Christine was.

"You've clearly forgotten how to do it because you must have shifted a hundred times."

Erik scoffed and shook his head. "I refuse to believe it."

As the couple's laughter died down and they fell silent again, Erik noticed that Christine was simply looking at him with a warm smile. "What is it?" he asked.

"Your smile - your genuine smile. I've never seen it before," she said softly. "And I love it,"

"Well, as soon as we figure out a way to escape, I will be smiling much more often," Erik replied as he kissed her. "I'm sorry we can't stay in France, but if something more was to happen to you because of me, I would never forgive myself."

Christine smiled at him, cupping his marred right cheek in her hand. "Where you go, I will be," she whispered. "Now, if you go and make us something to eat, I am going to go wash up. You can cook, can't you?"

"Yes, my dear, I can cook," Erik chuckled as he kissed her again. "But I will go make us something. Take your time."

~

Having decided to make simple eggs and toast along with a pot of tea, Erik started to plate their meal just as he heard Christine's quiet footsteps behind him as she stepped into the kitchen.

"I vouched for a quick and easy meal rather than-" he began as he turned around, only to trail off when he saw her and more specifically, what she was wearing.

Christine smiled sheepishly at him, her cheeks turning a dusty pink shade as she tugged at the hem of his dress shirt that she wore.

"I didn't want to get into my corset and dress just yet. This was the easiest option," she said softly. "I can take it off and go change if you would prefer-"

"No, no, it's fine, don't worry," Erik said quickly, stepping over and kissing her. "I was just...pleasantly surprised, that's all."

"Good," Christine said softly. She gently kissed him again before she sat at the table and waited for him to join her before she started to eat. "So if I know you at all, you've already planned out the way we're going to escape and are just waiting to pass it by me."

Erik smiled slightly, mindlessly stirring his tea. "You would be correct," he replied. "My thought was to leave as soon as we can - possibly even today - and travel to England...then possibly cross the ocean to America. To New York. We cannot stay in Paris, and I fear that even England will be too close if the gendarmes discover that you are with me. Even telling Adele and Meg could prove dangerous. I will leave a note telling them that I decided to escape on my own. No one needs to know where you have gone."

"Won't Raoul send out people to look for me? For you as well? Surely people will pick out my name when we try to leave."

"Not if you operate with a fake name and keep your face concealed as much as possible. We'll be fine; I will do anything and everything to keep you safe, my angel."

Christine smiled, pulling her chair closer to his so she could wrap her arms around him and lean her head on his shoulder. "I know you will," she said softly. "This is going to be quite the adventure, but I look forward to it in some strange capacity."

"I have a feeling that, as long as we have each other, we are going to be okay," Erik replied, pressing a kiss to her temple. "I love you, Christine."

"And I love you more, Erik."

~

this is one of my favourite things i've ever written because it fixes love never dies because erik stays the HECK in bed