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The sound was what woke Raoul up in the middle of the night. He sat up, blinking his tired eyes, and rubbed at them to try and adjust to the darkness. The embers in the fireplace were already dim, the room growing colder. It must be past midnight by now, and Christine lay asleep at his side, curled up against him. The servants must already be asleep in their quarters, as well. There was only one other person in the household—whose presence was only known to him and his wife, and rumored or suspected to be there by the servants and such—who rarely ever slept at night, preferring to conduct his work in the darkness and quiet of nighttime.
Raoul let out a weary sigh and got out of bed, careful not to disturb Christine and wake her up. She had a long day ahead of her, having found herself back in the company of the Opera, even after that disaster with the Phantom, and she had rehearsals. So, Raoul found it best that he didn't disturb her with whatever the ghoul in their basement was doing at this hour. He picked up a candelabra that sat atop the fireplace, and—there it was again. That sound. It was almost like a mewl...Was that meowing? Dear God.
Rubbing a hand over his face and through his hair, he lit the candles with some matches and quietly stepped out of the room, making his way downstairs. As he made his way to the heavy wooden door that led to the basement, he could hear faint clattering coming from the other side of it. And he could also hear, what he suspected was, swearing. Raoul pursed his lips, the tiredness suddenly leaving him. And there it was again. Meowing.
Raoul unlocked the door and stepped through, slowly closing the door behind him, hoping it didn't creak. He crept down the staircase, where the noises became louder, and he could hear the meowing with a lot more clarity.
Knowing the Phantom, Raoul was sure he wouldn't bring anyone else into their home without making sure with him or Christine in the first place. They'd established certain rules when the two of them (well, mostly Christine) had allowed him to stay in the Vicomte's residence. But, then again, they'd never said anything about not bringing in animals...
"Get down from there!" He heard Erik scold. Raoul tried to keep a straight face as he reached the bottom of the stares and saw Erik pointing his forefinger at a tiny critter that sat at the top of one of the shelves on the wall. The shelf in question had quite a few knickknacks on it, from Erik's time in Persia and little oddities he'd made during his past-time, and other trinkets that Christine had gotten him. A few were gifted from Raoul, too, but he never liked pointing out how they were on display along with the Phantom's other keepsakes. It made his heart flutter, and it's not something he liked dealing with or even thinking about.
Raoul looked closer at the creature on the shelf, squinting his eyes to get a clearer view. It was indeed a cat. A very small and lithe cat, with a black face, vibrant blue eyes, and a white body. A siamese! Where'd Erik find a cat like that?
From the shelf, the cat meowed once more and leaned down to swat at Erik's finger, which only made him curse more.
Raoul stifled a laugh and pressed a knuckle to his mouth to keep himself from laughing, but he was already heard. Erik quickly turned around, his face unmasked. Any other time, before that mess in the Phantom's lair underneath the Opera, Raoul would have probably cowered in fear or flinched in shock and turned away, but it's been months now since Erik's come to live with them, and Raoul has seen his face so often already that it was a familiar sight to him.
Erik, on the other hand, still wasn't used to showing his ghastly appearance around, not even around Raoul or Christine, so he was the one who flinched instead, caught off guard by the sight of the Vicomte.
"Vicomte," Erik said, suddenly composed again, but Raoul could see his hands fidgeting at his sides—a telltale sign that he'd grown used to seeing in the other man whenever he was nervous or anxious. "What—" he was quickly cut off by a loud meowing behind him. Raoul glanced behind him and pointed over at the cat who was happily grooming itself on the shelf.
"If you were about to ask what I was doing here, it was to inquire about that."
"Right..." Erik mumbled, glancing back at the cat. “Of course,” he sighed dejectedly. “I can take her away, if you so wish it. I shouldn’t have brought her in here without asking for your permission or Christine’s first.” Raoul’s eyebrows rose up in shock. He hadn’t expected the Phantom to be so quick to apologise, and especially not to him. The man usually caved first when Christine was present. Huh. Well, Raoul wasn’t going to dwell on that at the moment.
“Yes, you probably should have,” the Vicomte muttered. “Before we make any other decisions, though, I just want to ask a few things…”
A small clatter was heard behind Erik, causing him to turn around quickly. In the light of the candles surrounding them, Raoul could see the shadow of the cat jumping from shelf to shelf, knocking things around on her way. Raoul let out a soft chuckle as he watched her and smiled in amusement as Erik rushed to both grab her and to fix the things she’s knocked over. This was truly a sight to behold. Maybe he should have woken Christine up, so that the two of them could investiagate the strange noises and come across this. But at the same time, in a deep part of Raoul’s heart, he felt like he didn’t exactly want to share this with his wife. Like this was a private moment only he could witness and be a part of. He didn’t mean to blaspheme, but God knows how many times Christine has gotten to share her own part of little private moments with the Phantom. Not that the young Vicomte was jealous or anything. Nothing like that at all. He just wanted to have his own thing, too.
Erik cursed, finally giving up on catching the cat, who meowed in delight as she jumped from shelf to shelf, as if this was her own personal playground—and truth be told, it honestly was. Raoul finally let himself laugh as he watched, not even trying to help the other man.
“Oh, you find this amusing, Vicomte?” Erik sneered, but there was no malice behind his words. Maybe some other time this could have been taken as a threat, but Raoul knew better now. “Yes, I do,” Raoul laughed, wiping a stray tear from his cheek. He stepped over to Erik’s side and watched as the siamese kitten played with a spool of thread that sat atop a shelf directly above Erik’s organ. “So, what did you want to ask?” he inquired. Raoul looked up at him. “Well, before she interrupted me, I was going to ask where you found her and how did you manage to sneak her in?”
Erik nodded and sighed, eyes still trained on the nameless cat. “I actually found her near the Opera Populaire a while back. A few months ago, to be exact.”
“Oh?”
“When I went back to get my things, she was outside, playing in the rubble. I don’t know where she came from or why she was there, but I didn’t want to leave her there hungry, so I started feeding it.”
Raoul turned fully to the Phantom, coming face to face with the marred right side of his face. His profile was trulys stunning, despite it all. “I didn’t know you could be that charitable.”
Erik turned to him with a scowl. “Really, little Vicomte? Do you think me that cruel?”
Raoul shrugged a shoulder. “Well, I have a few examples—“
“You don’t need to get into it, Raoul,” he cut him off. Raoul felt his heart skip a beat at the sound of his name from Erik’s mouth.
“Anyway…” Erik continued, “I would go there at night every other day to make sure she was safe and fed. Then she started following me on my way back here. Tonight she did the same thing. I usually notice, but she’s a sneaky thing, and managed to follow me all the way back, right up to the door that leads to the cellar.” He let out a sigh and rubbed at his temples. “I couldn’t possibly take her back at this point, so I let her in…But I didn’t know how…chaotic she could be.”
Raoul smiled and looked over at the cat, who was now visibly exhausted and nodding off.
“I guess I can forgive the intrusion, then,” he said, setting the candelabra down on one of the tables nearby and crossed his arms over his chest. “I’m sure Christine would love her, and I sure don’t hold anything against her. I’m actually quite charmed by her right now,” he chuckled.
Erik’s shoulders visibly relaxed. “Thank you, Vicomte,” he breathed out in relief. Raoul smiled and placed a hand on his shoulder, squeezing it slightly. Erik tensed slightly at his touch but quickly relaxed again. He slowly lifted his hand and placed it against Raoul’s. His hand was cold, deathly so, and Raoul almost retracted his hand, but he couldn’t find himself wanting to. He quite liked the Phantom’s hand on his own.
“So, have you thought of any names for her?” the younger man asked, breaking the short silence between them, warmth blooming in his chest as he felt Erik’s thumb rubbing his knuckles with his thumb. This type of skinship between them wasn’t exactly common, but it wasn’t rare either, just a sudden development that neither of them have acknowledged and passively accepted it. “I’ve thought of a few, but…”
“Yes?”
“I think I’ll name her Ayesha.”
Raoul nodded in asent. “That’s a nice name. Ayesha it is then,” Raoul smiled, pulling his hand away. “We’ll have to get her some things…And maybe it’s better if she stays upstairs, too.”
Erik frowned at this. He was about to object, but Raoul didn’t let him. “Of course, I won’t expect you to stay down here while she lives her best life upstairs.”
“Excuse me?”
“We have plenty of free rooms upstairs. You can have a bedroom and your very own study, if that’s what you wish. We can put a new piano in the sitting room, too, if you so wish it.”
“Raoul—“
“You can even construct your own passages, and everything. Christine and I both know that you designed and helped build your own place underneath the opera. I’ll let you have free range, as long as it doesn’t cause any trouble. And—“
“Raoul,” Erik raised his voice a bit more, cutting the Vicomte off completely. Raoul looked at him sheepishly, an almost crimson blush spreading across his freckled cheeks. He hoped his flushed state wasn’t noticeable in the candlelight, but for someone whose eyes have been trained to the darkness, Raoul knew that it wouldn’t escape Erik’s vision.
“Are you sure about what you’re saying? About what you’re offering?” Erik asked, eyebrows furrowed. He had a strange expression on his face, as if he couldn’t decide whether to be flattered or apalled. “I would scare your serving staff half to death, even with a mask. Rumors are sure to start circulating if anyone sees me up there. What would that do to your precious reputation, little Vicomte? And what of Christine? Do you wish to see her ruined by such things again?”
Raoul’s eyes hardened and his lips pressed into a thin line. He knew Erik had a point, but if he were to be honest, he was quite tired of all the sneaking around just to avoid the baseless rumors of society, and he was surely not going to tolerate any badmouthing from his own staff. Besides, they could just come up with a lie or make up a story about Erik, if only it meant to put a stop to the sneaking and the hiding. He could figure it all out later—they could figure it out later.
“Of course I don’t want to see Christine ruined. I don’t care much for my reputation, but I would never harm hers nor would you, as I’m sure. But I’m quite sick and tired of having to sneak around and have to see my wife doing the same thing,” he huffed out. "You’re already living with us, might as well make it official and have you move to a bedroom outside of the basement. We can deal with the staff later on. We’ll figure something out.”
Erik stared hard at him, his expression unreadable. Raoul couldn’t tell what he was thinking, but he could tell he was mulling over his words.
Finally, the Phantom sighed and ran a hand through the wisps of hair on his head. “Fine. Alright. If that’s what you and Christine wish. We’ll figure the rest out later, as you say.”
Raoul smiled, and almost out of instinct, leaned up and—immediately jumped back, shocked by his own actions. Was he seriously about to kiss him? To kiss Erik?
“Raoul?”
Oh, to hell with it. Might as well come to terms with it now, rather than later.
Raoul leaned back up again and pressed his lips against Erik’s. Erik froze against him. Oh, Raoul really hoped he didn’t frighten him away. That was the least he wanted right now. His heart was beating rapidly and hard against his chest as he waited for Erik to respond in some way.
Just when Raoul started to pull away, feeling dejected, Erik placed his hands on his waist and pulled him closer, kissing him back. Raoul gasped softly and wrapped his arms around his neck, reciprocating the kiss, and—God, it felt so good. Is this what Christine’s been doing down here whenever they’ve had lessons together? If so, Raoul was really missing out, and he couldn’t help but regret it a little bit. But he was here now, and he was very glad about it.
They pulled away from each other after a while, breathing heavily and foreheads pressed together.
“We better go get some sleep,” Raoul muttered. “It’s already past midnight…”
“Or...?” Erik mused, his hands starting to roam across Raoul’s sides. “Or…” Raoul began, “maybe we could—“ He was quickly cut off by a loud meowing and something pawing at his leg. Raoul quickly jumped away from Erik, and looked down at Ayesha, who was awake and circling Raoul’s legs, rubbing her head against his calf. Raoul laughed and leaned down, letting her sniff his hand before going to pet her.
Erik chuckled, a bit awkwardly. “It seems she likes you.”
“I’m glad,” Raoul smiled as he pet her head. “I hope she likes Christine, too.”
“How could she not?”
“You’re right. How could she not?” Raoul chuckled. “Alright, let’s head upstairs. Would you like that Ayesha?” Ayesha meowed back in reply, making both Erik and Raoul laugh.
Erik picked up the siamese cat and cradled her close to his chest. Raoul smiled, almost adoringly, at the sight before him, and picked up the mostly extinguished candelabra from the table and made his way up the stairs with the other two.
Once Raoul got them settled in the bedroom right next to his and Christine’s, he went back to bed with his wife, who was, surprisingly, still asleep, happily sprawled over the bed’s expanse. With a smile, Raoul climbed in, and almost immediately fell asleep.
—
The next morning, Christine woke up to the sound of meowing and laughter. Wait…meowing? She quickly got up and out of the bed, still in her chamise, and quickly wrapped herself in her robe, and made her way towards the sound. It seemed to be coming from the room next to theirs. She peeked inside and found herself looking at the most amusing sight.
Inside the room, was her husband, the Vicomte de Chagny, and her Angel of Music, sitting on the floor, playing with…a cat?
She had known the two of them were hanging out more often and becoming closer, but this was…an interesting turn of events. She slowly opened the door and stepped inside. “Boys?” she asked, eyebrows raised. The two of them turned to her. Raoul smiled widely and stood up to greet her. He pecked her on the lips. “Good morning, beautiful.” Just behind him, Erik stood as well, carrying the cat in his arms. “Good morning, Christine”, he said. Christine smiled at the two of them and cocked her head to the side in question. “Good morning to you two…Who’s this?” she asked, crossing the room over to Erik. She placed her hand near the cat, letting it sniff her, testing to see if it would let her pet it. The cat rubbed its head against her hand, making her smile widely.
“Her name is Ayesha,” Raoul said, moving to stand behind her. “Is it okay if she stays with us?” he asked, placing his hands on Christine’s shoulders.
“Oh! Of course!” she replied. “I’ve always wanted a pet.”
Erik and Raoul looked at each other and smiled.
“There’s something else we should discuss,” Raoul said. His tone made her turn away from Ayesha and face him. “What is it?”
“I’ve asked Erik to move upstairs with us,” he said, glancing over to the other man and back to his wife. Christine’s eyes widened and she smiled widely. “Oh, Raoul, really?? Truly?” Raoul smiled and nodded. “Yes. I believe it’s best if you stop going down into that dingy basement. You might catch a cold one of these days.” Erik scoffed and rolled his eyes behind them, making the couple smile.
“Of course,” Christine laughed softly, “Thank you, Raoul. There’s nothing I could want more,” she leaned up to him and kissed his cheek. “And thank you, Erik,” she turned to him and kissed his cheek, too. “I don’t know how it happened, but it seems the two of you are closer now, and there’s nothing that could make me happier.”
Erik and Raoul glanced at each other, their cheeks coloring pink. Christine giggled at this, knowing that even if they didn’t say anything, she could tell there was somethig blossoming betwen them the more time the two of them spent together, but she chose not to say anything, wanting them to come to realisation on their own. She’s glad they have.
“We’ve come to an agreement, of sorts,” Raoul muttered, rubbing the back of his neck.
“Of sorts,” Erik shrugged a shoulder.
Christine laughed softly, truly delighted by this turn of events, and took Ayesha from his arms, holding her close. She meowed and pressed her head against Christine’s cheek. “How about we get you some breakfast, yes?” Christine made her way out of the room, Ayesha chattering away in her arms, and her two partners followed behind.
Things were going to be a little more complicated from here on out, but the three of them, with Ayesha in tow, were sure to make it through it all.