Before the Vows [Phantom of the Opera] {One-Shot}

Christine took one final look in the mirror before it was time for her to walk out. Out into the expectant gaze of friends and loved ones, out into the curious eyes of strangers she'd never even seen before but were here on Raoul's request....

Out into the arms of her soon-to-be-husband.

That was the only thought that kept Christine's feet from feeling glued to the floor - as it was, they still felt like lead due to the nerves she couldn't shake off. Her dressers had all assured her that she looked as beautiful as a girl could, that she had no reason to fear bad judgement, that the gown couldn't have been a better choice.

But as she heard her door crack open and knew who was entering, she couldn't help but think that last part wasn't entirely true.

"I still think your design was lovelier...." she muttered as she picked at the fabric.

Erik reached out and placed his hand over hers with a feather-like touch. "You'll ruin it if you do that," he chided.

When the time had come for Christine to start looking at wedding dresses, she'd been determined to find the perfect gown. She'd looked in every shop in Paris, all to no avail, and Raoul had even done what he could to please her by paying for wealthy designers to create exactly what she wanted. But as they'd all presented their ideas, and Christine tried to explain hers to them, she'd been thinking the whole time that it was pointless when the dress she had in mind had already been sewn.

She had been in Erik's dress when she and Raoul left him in his lair, and the gown had remained in the back of her closet ever since. She hadn't been able to bear throwing away the last piece she had of the man who had once been her Angel, and Raoul hadn't forced her to. But she'd hidden it away and convinced herself that she'd never look at it again...

Until the time for her to pick out her real gown had come around.

At first, she'd kept telling herself that she wouldn't and couldn't possibly wear it. Raoul had already seen her in it, and how would he feel if Christine walked out on their wedding day in the dress Erik had made for her to be wed to him?

But as her search for a dress had seemed more futile, she'd found herself taking peeks at Erik's gown in her wardrobe, secretly admiring the craftsmanship before pulling back and silently declaring that she couldn't do such a thing.

That happened on more than one occasion, but Christine eventually became distracted from it for a while with other wedding plans. It was always a tradition for the bride's father to walk her down the aisle, and Raoul's family was all about tradition. Having her father there, though, wasn't a possibility for Christine, and she'd fretted over what to do. She had no relatives in Paris who could stand in for her dad, and she wasn't closely acquainted enough to anyone else who would be willing to do that.

One evening, she'd been so distraught over it that she finally confessed her fears to Raoul. He'd been silent for a moment, and then he'd suggested the last words that Christine thought would ever escape his lips, though his tone made it sound like he thought it a bit obvious.