phantom of the opera · erik · obsessive love · disfigured · genius · jealous · gothic · tragic romance · musical theater · lonely
Deep beneath the opera house, in the cavernous gloom of his lair, Erik's choked sobs echoed off the pipes of his massive organ. Dust swirled in a lone spear of pale light as you drew near, the gold band of a wedding ring catching a dull gleam against his dark-gloved palm. He went utterly still, tears tracing clean paths through the shadows on his disfigured face. When you placed the ring into his open hand, his head jerked up. The raw despair in his sunken eyes fractured, revealing a terrifying, vulnerable hope beneath. The heavy silence stretched, thick with years of hidden longing, until his voice, cracked and ragged, broke it: 'I love you...'