Phantom's Journey (Phantom of the Opera/Love Never Dies)

IV

 The day of Christine's funeral was dark and grim. It was a cloudy day with no sun at all. Gustave was absolutely silent throughout the service, both his fathers sitting on either side of him. Erik glanced at Raoul over Gustave's head; the Comte was sitting leaned back, staring off into the distance. He had dark circles under his eyes, and it seemed to Erik he was doing his best not to cry in front of all those people.

 By now, word had likely gotten out that Raoul was not Gustave's real father. All three of them got some odd looks. Erik wore his hat low over his face, and tried to avoid talking to people. He did share a few words with Raoul's sister; the woman was genuinely sad that Christine was dead. She believed Christine loved Raoul, even though Gustave was Erik's. Erik could what a loving woman she was, and that she had loved all three of them.

~~~~~~

 After the funeral and the burial, Gustave silently stalked up to his room.

 "Do you want company?" Erik had offered.

 Gustave just shook his head and trudged up the stairs.

 Erik had no idea what to do. He loved Gustave, but he had absolutely no clue how to comfort him. He had never had a parent who loved him. He was happy  to get away from his parents.
 
 He went to the piano and played for a long time. It had to near suppertime, but he no one would be hungry after the day's events. Instead, he decided to contemplate his current situation. He knew it could still be dangerous for him to be in Paris. There were still stories of the Phantom of the Opera, and how did he know Chagny would not hand him to the police?
 
 After some time, he wandered into the dining room, finding a very dunk Raoul sitting at the table holding a glass; there was an empty wine bottle on the table.
 
 "Have you seen Gustave since the funeral?" Erik asked, taking a cautious step forward.

 Raoul slowly set the glass down on the table, and turned so that they were eye to eye.
 
 "What is it about you?" he said softly, eyeing Erik in a dangerous way. "Why you? She chose you in the end. You, a monster who pretended to be a ghost for years, and pretended to her angel when he was a demon!" His voice grew louder as he spoke, and was yelling by the end of his statement.

 "Do you want Gustave to hear you?" Erik hissed. "He's already mourning his mother-"
 
 "Why wouldn't I want him to hear this?" Raoul shouted. "Let him know who you really are!"
 
 "I will tell him one day, but not now. He's far too young and already grieving. Perhaps I should tell him of how you gambled away your fortune and became a drunken fool, and the reason Christine had to go to New York to perform was to pay off your debts!"
 
 "We went to New York because you tricked us!" Raoul shouted. "For all I know, you could have known the entire time that Gustave was your son! And perhaps you never should have left Christine that night she came to you before our wedding! If you had not, there would at least be a chance she would still be alive!"
 
 That hit hard. Erik was silent for a long moment. Then he said softly, "Of course I thought of that. I blame myself for her death. And now Gustave has no mother. Just two stupid fathers in us." He sighed. "I never should have come down here. You can enjoy whatever sad party this is."
 
 Erik went up to one of the bedrooms and laid on the bed, not bothering to even take his shoes off, and just laid there for a long time.

~~~~~~

 Raoul eventually decided it would be a good idea to go to bed and get some sleep. Lots of it would do him good, actually. He lit a candle climbed the stairs. When he reached his room, he was surprised to find Erik lying on his bed, fast asleep. 
 
 Well, he was upset, Raoul thought. Probably didn't realize where he was going. 
 
 He held the candle a little closer to Erik and saw fresh tear stains on his face. 
 
 Must have cried himself to sleep. Raoul studied him silently for a moment. I suppose what I said was rather harsh, even though he deserved it. And I did deserve what he said. 
 
 He stayed there a moment longer, and then decided to just sleep in another room for the night. Better to let him sleep than cause more trouble. The liquor hadn't quite worn off yet.