Epilogue

The following October, a week before Halloween…

"Come on, Erik! Let me see how you look!" Christine called from the living room as she messed with her fairy wings that were part of her costume.

"I'm not sure I want to!" she heard Erik's voice replied through the bedroom door.

Months had passed since Erik had been shot and Raoul and Christine accidently completed their mission. The three of them were sharing a larger apartment closer to Erik's daycare and school. Erik had reluctant at first but it wasn't that hard to persuade him, Christine was positive that Antoinette and Nadir probably had a hand in it. After Erik had told them that he may have confess that he was in love with them, the older siblings had gone nuts in happiness. Antoinette had been happier because apparently she had won the bet.

"You still had a bet going on?!" Erik had asked scandalized.

"Well, yeah! We had to change it after the two had declared their intentions to both be with you. We decided to bet on when you were going to admit you loved them back." Antoinette explained gleefully as she took the money owed to her from Nadir.

"I think it shouldn't count anymore." Nadir grumbled. "Erik had a near death experience and it probably made him more open to things."

"I hate you so much!" Erik exclaimed, putting his head in his hands.

"No you don't!" The older siblings replied instantly with twin grins.

The only reason Christine and Raoul knew about this was because Erik had told them about it and that was because Meg let it slip while everyone had been visiting Erik in his apartment after he returned from the hospital.

Christine had to admit that she missed some parts of being Erik's guardian. The biggest thing was that she was no longer able to be by Erik's side all the time. It had been weird at first, having to leave and not be able to come back until an appropriate time. She had no idea what to do with herself the first few days. For almost a century, her entire focus had been on being by Erik's side and helping him where she could and suddenly she couldn't do that anymore. Plus she would no longer be able to influence him. Sure she had been the 'demon' guardian and had possession over the sins but there were times that she was able to use them for good. She also missed her ability to shift into her ghost form. It had been convenient being able to walk through things and not feel the weather around her. It had been a lot to process. Luckily, she had Raoul with her, who was going through the same thing, and together they came to terms with it and agreed that just because they could no longer be with Erik 24/7, it didn't mean that they couldn't try to make the most of what time they did have.

Once their minds were at peace towards that, Christine and Raoul got their new lives together. Castiel had been extremely kind to them by making sure that they would not have to worry about money. The information that the angel had given them about their lives also made sure they knew how to handle it smartly. It took about a week for Erik to be healthy enough to open the daycare and his school back up, Ayesha had certainly given Erik a long lecture when he had returned. Good thing Antoinette and Nadir had taken care of the cat while Erik couldn't. Christine and Raoul used that week to settle in. They had to buy a lot of things that they had never needed before, but that was fine, they got the bare necessities of what wasn't already provided for them. By the time Erik opened his businesses back up, they were all set.

They continued to work under Erik at his daycare and school, the guarantee hours with Erik was something that they hadn't wanted to give up. However, they did start looking into things that could fill in their time away. Raoul had taking an interest in their finances and investments. Christine hadn't been surprise. Raoul was good with money and would make sure that they always had a decent amount. Christine had taken a liking to arts and crafts. She had discovered that the closet library had started to offer sewing classes for a small price and she had purchased her spot almost instantly. It had soon become her favorite past time when she wasn't with Erik and Raoul, other than singing of course. She had been taking the class for several months and was confident in her ability to make everyone's Halloween costumes. Which Christine was presently trying to get Erik to show her the costume she had made for him.

Christine rolled her eyes but put her wings down. "Don't make me call Antoinette, she'll drag you out of there."

"I don't like how you're using my sister to threaten me." Erik's voice replied, but there was amusement in his tone.

"Just come out, I need to make sure everything fits right. There's only one more week before Halloween." Christine ordered.

There was a pause behind the bedroom door, but then it slowly opened. Christine kept her back to it so that Erik could come out in his own time.

"I can't believe I let you talk me into this. I hate suits." Erik complained behind her close enough that she knew he was in the dining room with her.

Christine smirked at the reply and turned around. As she saw Erik dressed in his costume, her breath caught in her throat.

Oh…

Erik frowned, taking her reaction as a bad one. He took off his hat and poked at the white mask that covered majority of his face.

"Is it that terrible? I told you I wouldn't look good in a suit."

Christine didn't say anything. She didn't know if she could at that moment because her mouth had gone dry.

Erik stood a few feet from her dressed in black slacks and a white dress shirt that was covered with a Victorian looking coat that had a penguin tail. He had black gloves and a black cape that almost went down to the floor and was currently holding the black hat in his hands. The white mask fit over his face like it was made for him, covering everything except his eyes and below his cheeks.

He looked exactly like the Erik in their first life except this time, the racing of Christine's heartbeat was caused by the exact opposite of fear.

Without saying a word, she went to him. Erik blinked in surprise by whatever must have been her expression but she didn't give him time to move. She took his face in her hands, careful to not mess with the mask, and brought his head down.

They lips met and Christine immediately melted, leaning her weight toward Erik while pulling his head closer. It took a second for Erik to respond, but when he did pressed his lips to hers but did not touch her.

That was fine, Christine already knew that Erik was not much of a physical person. Since they had official started dating, Raoul and Christine had been more physically affection towards Erik and while he doesn't not initiate contact as often, he always responded and that was something Christine would always love. The fact that Erik allowed them to do such things was major in Christine's opinion, she knew personally how much Erik didn't care for such things. And she could admit to herself that she sort of took advantage of that by kissing him often.

Eventually, Erik was the one to pull away first. Christine almost followed after him, but was able to stay put in time.

"Christine…" Erik began softly.

Christine had to hold back the shudder at the sound of her name on Erik's lips. Instead she hummed in question, moving her hands to rest on his shoulders.

"Do you have a mask fetish?" Erik questioned, his golden eyes serious.

Christine felt her cheeks warm up and took a couple steps away from him to cross her arms over her chest.

"Of course not!" Christine huffed.

Even with the mask covering the majority of Erik's face, she knew that he was raising his eyebrow at her.

"That was quite the reaction for someone who claims not to have one." Erik countered.

"Well, if I do, it'll only be towards you." Christine answered with a roll of her eyes.

"Should I consider that as an insult? That you enjoy my face hidden behind a mask?" Erik replied.

Christine opened her mouth to protest but noticed the smirk growing on Erik's lips and turned away with another eye roll. "It suits you. That's all."

"Apparently, rather well." Erik teased, causing Christine to feel another wave of heat on her cheeks. He poked at the rim of the mask. "What made you decide to make my costume the phantom of the opera?"

"It's your favorite musical and he's your favorite character." Christine explained. She didn't tell him that another reason was that she had wanted to see him as he used to be again, if only for a night.

"Yes, but the mask isn't what is used." Erik opposed as he pulled off said mask.

Christine shrugged. "It wasn't accurate to the original book either."

Christine had been curious one time and had checked out the original book that the musical was based on. It was exaggerated in a lot of places but she couldn't fault the writer for that since it had been written to be a horror novel. He also did not have all the facts but again how could he have? He hadn't been there and the work was considered a fiction, and for that Christine was grateful.

"Doesn't the story have the phantom wearing a full mask?" Erik asked then pressed the mask back on his face, displaying the fact that it didn't cover his face.

With a grin, Christine raised her hand and touched Erik's uncovered chin.

"Like I would ever be able to cover those gorgeous lips." She remarked lightly.

Erik turned away and placed the mask down. Christine saw the hint of pink flushing his cheeks and her grin widened. The real reason why she had made the mask that way was because that was the way Erik's mask had truly been in their first lives.

"Can you put the mask back on? I want to make sure it fits right." Christine asked.

Erik shrugged but placed the mask back on easily, the onyx ring on his left pinkie shining in the light.

Christine went back to him and examined the mask carefully. It seemed to fit comfortably enough and Erik told her that, while strange to wear, it felt fine. Christine continued her examination of the rest of his costume, poking and prodding him as she asked questions to which Erik answered with an entertained tone.

She was inspecting the cape when she heard the apartment door open and Raoul calling their names.

"In the dining room!" She yelled out to him and heard the footsteps coming towards them.

"Hey, what are you doing in—AHH!"

Christine jerked up, seeing Erik react the same way at the sound of Raoul's scream. Erik faced Raoul and she popped her head from behind him to see Raoul. Raoul was currently leaning back against the wall with wide eyes and pale skin.

"The heck Raoul?" Christine questioned with a concern frown.

Raoul blinked and then let out a shaky chuckle. "I'm fine. Sorry about that."

"Are you okay?" Erik asked with a frown as well.

Raoul straightened and waved his hand dismissingly, yet he wasn't looking at them. "Yeah, just…had a bad experience with a person in a mask one time. I was taken off guard, that's all."

Opps, Christine thought. She hadn't thought about how Raoul would react to seeing Erik the way he was in their first life when he had been actively trying to kill Raoul.

Erik took off his mask, eyes glowing with concern under his furrowed brows. "Are you sure you're alright? I will not wear this if it brings back bad memories."

Raoul's head turned back to them and he had a small grin. "Nah, it's okay. Like I said, it caught me off guard, I'll be fine."

"If you say so." Erik replied unsure.

Raoul grinned and walked to Erik. He took the mask from his hand and placed it back on. Once it was on, Raoul leaned up and gave Erik a sweet peck on his lips before pulling back.

"Its fine, Erik. Now that I'm taking another look, you actually look quite dashing in it."

"Great, I got both of you having a mask fetish." Erik deadpanned.

At Raoul's puzzled look, Christine couldn't help but laugh.

The three of them were all together, after decades of unsuccessfully trying to figure out how things were supposed to work. It had been a long road for Christine and she knew that it had been a harder road for Raoul, but they had done it. They could finally be with Erik the way they should have been in their first lives. Maybe sometimes Christine regretted her actions in that life a little, but she couldn't regret how things ended up in what would be their last life.

At the beginning, Christine hadn't thought that her life could've felt more whole then her life with Raoul. However, she knew that this was what happiness truly was, and she was going to hold onto it with all her might.

DONE! That was it everyone! Now I'm a little sad, but all things must come to an end. To be honest, one of the main reasons I wrote this entire thing was just so that I could write this Halloween scene with Erik dressing as his old self. Crazy I know, but it was worth it. :) I hope everyone enjoyed the fic and thank all who stuck with it through the whole thing. The story may be over but my readers are more than welcome to leave a review. Whether it's the day it's published, weeks, months or years after today, I'll read and love them. :) Thank you all and leave a review!

*side note. I do have other works, but will be unable to publish them because I'll be unavailable the next few months. I wouldn't want to publish anything that I would suddenly disappear on. But at least this note lets you know I'll be back someday. And I hope to see my readers then. Until then, enjoy my other works and leave a review if you enjoyed the chapter and stories. See ya next time!