phantom of the opera oneshots, originally published on AO3, FFN, and Tumblr (under the same username!)
all of my phantom oneshots will now be published here instead of in my oneshots book :)
cover by BrendaDaaeDestler!
He had thought he'd adjusted to the general reaction to people seeing his face. The jeering and laughing, the gasps and screams. After all the years of enduring it, it didn't seem like it could ever faze him again. Even knowing Christine had once been afraid of him didn't pain him as much anymore because of that one keyword - once. She didn't anymore; she no longer shuddered around him, and given that she had willingly given herself to him, had almost declared her love if he'd given her the chance, he knew that for certain.
When Gustave screamed, though, his heart felt like it shattered. The boy whom he was almost certain was his son, who he had just had the most amazing time with while they explored his world of darkness and mystery, had gasped and screamed and ran into his mother's arms when he'd seen his face. Erik had thought he could handle it, accept it, but clearly, he had misread the situation.
He had never felt such heartbreak before, on top of not knowing whether or not the boy was actually his child. The way he felt so drawn to Gustave was something he had never experienced in his life, so all he could attribute it to was some sort of paternal instinct built into him. The need to be near this child, this...this miracle that he had, possibly had a hand in creating. Their entire time together, he had felt some sort of need to hold the boy close and just enjoy his company, he had wanted it so badly.
Now, though, he didn't know if he would ever get the chance. He might have ruined everything...just like he always did.
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