Title: e-lf
Ch: 01
Author: Lucifer Rosemaunt
Series: AU erik

Summary: Christmas spirit comes in many different forms. Modern!AU. Where Raoul's rich (obviously), Christine and Meg are theatre/dance students, and Erik is a reclusive artist with a deformity (as he is wont to be in every universe).
Fandom: Phantom of the Opera
Pairing(s): Erik/Raoul pre-slash
Warning(s): modern!AU
Word Count: 923
Rating: K+

A/N: Hey, of course I'd start a random series. It's not like I have other fics not completed yet. This is my quasi-Christmas fic since you probably won't be getting a real POTO-verse Christmas fic. Apologies for that. The Christmas!plotbunnies have not been very active. Also, it's coming in three parts even though I may post it all in one day. Hopefully. Or one week.
Story note: The summary is pretty accurate. Also, it's not that long of a fic and doesn't delve too deeply into this verse. It just is.

o.o.o.o

"Nadir."

Erik stopped glaring at his only friend and sometimes agent just long enough to glance up at the oversized Christmas ornaments that hung from the ceiling of the mall, briefly wondering how many shoppers they could take out given the right circumstances.

Admittedly, it was an unkind thought given that November was barely ending and the mall was thankfully still rather sparse. The holiday rush to buy presents had yet to arrive in full swing; only the few, usual Wednesday night shoppers were milling about.

The holiday season, on the other hand, was very much present and insinuated into every aspect of the mall. Every store window held red and green tinsel, fake snow, reindeer cutouts, and gingerbread houses in various stages of construction. The fake palm trees were wrapped in colorful lights and potted plants replaced by a veritable topiary of similarly fake firs. Christmas carols played through the tinny speakers and the smell of peppermint and gingerbread clung to the air persistently as all the holiday coffees followed the onset of the end of Thanksgiving.

All in all, Erik could think of a million other places he would rather be, one place in particular being his studio away from both curious stares and holiday cheer.

"What are we doing here?"

"What do you mean, what are we doing here?" Nadir did not bother looking over his shoulder. He knew Erik would follow him; it was not as though he could leave. He was the one who had driven the recluse of a man to the mall. If he were crueler, he would have simply dropped Erik off and then left him. "You have been threatening me the past two weeks to find the whereabouts of your wayward benefactor. If you had…"

"No one is my benefactor." Erik strode faster to walk to Nadir's left, bumping his shoulder in response. "It is a small gallery and a single show. He is paying for my art, not me."

"Small gallery?" Nadir scoffed. "Face it, Erik. You are now a kept man." His next step faltered when from his peripheral vision he saw Erik cringe away from the passing young couple who were too caught up in themselves to notice anyone but each other. "Stop ducking like that. You're only making yourself more noticeable." They had passed a mother and her children earlier that almost made Nadir regret bringing Erik at this time of day, but he was not about to mention that. "There aren't even that many people."

"There are enough," Erik retorted even as he stopped ducking his head, angling it towards Nadir in hopes that the other man would be able to block anyone's prying eyes from his mask. "Where are you taking me?"

"Well," Nadir grinned, glad that Erik had finally asked, "I did some investigating." In another lifetime, he would have loved to have been a private eye. He was good at finding information and people. In this lifetime though, he usually only used those skills to find artists, their agents, and investors. "I needed to figure out your benefactor's schedule since tracking him down lately has been near impossible."

"You stalked him," Erik interjected.

Nadir scowled. "Do you want to know how much trouble I went through to do you the favor of finding him or what?"

Erik was silent for a moment, as though seriously considering otherwise before nodding his head. "Go on."

"Well, I had to ask around what with his secret holiday schedule and him never having the time of day to speak with me much less meet with you, and can you believe he doesn't even have a personal assistant or anything?" He did not wait for Erik to respond. "The secretary at the office he's never at managed to let it slip that he comes here in the afternoon and well, I came on Monday."

Erik paused, grabbing his arm. "You've known since Monday that this is where he's been and yet you still kept it secret from me."

"It's been two days and it is your fault that you haven't met the man," Nadir replied. A tilt of his head was the only indication he gave before walking again. "He set up three appointments in November, trying to see and you were too busy each time."

"I was busy," Erik replied. He was always busy when he needed to be, and he did not know how to tell Nadir that he had not been ready to see his supposed benefactor just yet. "There was no reason then to speak with him with the gallery show so far away. I already know he's interested. He's allowing me several pieces in his gallery. What else was there to say?"

"Yes," Nadir said slowly, looking at him closely. "Then, there is a reason now?"

Erik refused to meet his eyes and walked just a little bit faster.

Shaking his head, Nadir let the question slide for the time being. "Well, you will not like where..."

A single gasp was his only warning before he was jerked to the side and slammed into a fake palm tree, the lights digging into his back.

"What?" he winced and looked around to see if anyone had seen the sudden movement. It probably looked like he was being robbed, and he almost hoped someone looked scandalized. Fortunately for Erik, no one was around.

The masked man kept him pinned there for a moment before he peered around the tree and said a single word that explained everything.

"Christine."

o.o.o.o

End chapter 01

A/N: Don't forget to R/R (Read and Review)!
Fic Review: I like Nadir. These two have a complicated relationship. Nadir works in a gallery that Erik once had the opportunity to have art in and they're friends in a rough sense of the word. If you were wondering, Erik does drive but Nadir likes making him depend on him for stuff sometimes just to torture him since Erik's a control freak. :D And he forced Erik to be his passenger by not telling him where they were going.