Warning: Has not been beta'd. You've been warned!

There is heavy snowfall in Paris, despite winter coming to its closing stages. It is the day before Victoria’s twenty second birthday and she’s rushing home through the traffic, knowing that Aiden is waiting for her at home.

Due to the fact that they are both busy the next day, they’ve decided to celebrate her birthday a day early.

However, once she’s home, all she sees is a blur of blue, gold and white. Pressure forms in her chest and she panics, running as fast as she can into the building as she makes her way towards her apartment as quickly as she can.

Once the elevator doors open, the scene she’s feared most plays before her eyes.

Her front door is open and a few physicians are carrying Aiden’s still body onto an extended stretcher. His face is pale, as though there is no blood in his system, and his fingers are purple at the tips. In his left hand, he’s clutching a small gift box.

“Aiden!”

From his efforts alone Victoria can tell that Aiden is using every last ounce of energy left in his weakening body to force his eyes open. She quickly reaches his side and wraps his cold, limp hands in both of her palms.

The tears won’t stop dropping from her eyes as she continuously whimpers his name over and over again.

He forms a small smile, the smile that she has always loved to see, and softly nudges the box into her palm. Victoria takes the box and presses it to her lips, showing him that she’s received it.

“H-h…happy…b-irthday,” Aiden chokes, voice raspy and barely audible.

Victoria nods and leans forward to kiss his cheek. “Thank you, Aiden. This is the best birthday gift I’ve ever gotten.”

Her voice is quivering, fear stemming in every inch of her body as she watches the light leave his eyes.

“Medicine! Aiden needs his medication!” She shouts, grappling at the physicians.

The men bite down on their lips and silently sit there, not knowing how to comfort Victoria as she begs them to save the man that she loves so dearly.

“Please… please…”

Aiden’s fingers tighten around hers and she instantly returns to his side. He pulls her hand over his heart and rests it there, allowing her to feel the gradually slowing down of his weak heartbeat. “Don’t… forget me…” Aiden manages to breathe out, then extending his free hand over the same organ beneath her own chest. “Don’t… don’t f-forget…”

“Aiden, please…” Victoria finally cries out at him, clutching the cloth of his shirt and burying her face into his shoulder, “Please don’t leave me.”

She wanted Aiden to leave with her smile but all she’s sending him off with are her tears.

Victoria remembers Aiden saying that when he dies, he wants to see his loved ones smile. She had told him then that it would be impossible because Aiden was such a great man that everyone loved him too much to not cry.

At that moment, Aiden said he’d rather be a bad man then, so no one would cry if he dies…

She feels his fingers at the back of her head and she lifts her face, staring into his eyes. He’s smiling at her, so weak, so tranquil, that her heart constricts in another wave of pain. The tears don’t stop, but Victoria forces a smile.

“So… ugly,” Aiden laughs.

The machine attached to Aiden begins beeping loudly and Victoria disguises her panic as well as she can. “You’re uglier.”

“…Kiss… Kiss goodbye?”

Knowing that his time is running low Victoria nods at him and wipes away her tears with the sleeve of her shirt before hovering over him and pressing a long kiss to his lip; his lips are dry, dry and cold, and all Victoria wants to do is warm them.

His fingers slip from her hair and land on his side. Victoria refuses to open her eyes, even as the physicians pull her into the hard seat when the beeper changes from a series of beeps into an endlessly extended one.

Even until this day, she doesn’t know what Aiden looked like when he left.

If she had enough courage to look at his passing face, she would have seen a smile; Aiden had no regrets in his life, yet, he had become Victoria’s greatest regret. She regretted not being able to spend more time with him; she regretted not being there when he needed her most; and most of all Victoria now regrets not looking him in the eyes when he took his last breath.

It takes an entire month and a half for her to recover from losing Aiden.

Yunho hesitates between giving her a vacation again when she comes back and allowing her even more time to think and mourn over the loss of her loved one or keeping her at work and working her through her misery. There is no win-win situation, but as Victoria’s boss and considerably good friend, Yunho decides to keep her at work.

At least then he would be able to watch over her in case she decided to do anything stupid.

He doesn’t bring up Beijing anymore because he knows that he would never be able to live with himself if he were to take advantage of her weakness right now. It’s not as though Yunho wants to send her away anyways, he just wants her to become the best that she can be.

Things fall back into the rhythm that they used to be. Victoria continues her school meanwhile working as a Chief Executive Officer’s Assistant; life is busy and there’s hardly a break for her to take a breather but she feels alive and almost numb.

Eventually, Aiden becomes a memory that is bittersweet in her heart and not just pain.

One day, she finds the gift box that Aiden had given to her on that night that feels so long ago. She lifts it into her hands and feels her heart race as she lifts the cover open.

It is a locket necklace and inside the locket is a photo they took together a few years ago. A small sticky note is folded inside.

I really didn’t know what to get you. This time it’s a necklace. Maybe next year I’ll get you a bracelet? No matter what it is, I just want you to know that in this world, no one will love you more than I do. Happy Birthday, Qian.

Why? Victoria wants to ask him. Why can’t it be a ring?

In a very rushed and unhealthy manner, Victoria manages to finish all of her studies and achieves her graduate degree by the time fall intercepts them. Not too long after she’s received all of her awards and achievements, she is sent on a three week business trip to Poitiers.

Poitiers is a small town but there are a lot of people there. Moments after she lands, she accidentally leaves her phone on a restaurant counter and it is stolen by the time she returns. When she finally returns home, she gets a phone call from her aunt.

“Victoria, why haven’t you answered your phone? A few weeks ago, your dad…”

A part of Victoria’s chest sinks and she takes a deep breath.

“Your brother, Zitao… they need you in Beijing. Do you… understand what I’m saying?”

It takes a moment for her to gather her thoughts. “I understand, aunty, and I’m sorry. I’ll take the next earliest flight out. Don’t worry, okay?”

To be entirely honest, Yunho can’t say he’s entirely surprised to hear from Victoria again. It isn’t as though he expects the worst for her but once one thing goes wrong, they usually don’t come alone.

“Don’t feel bad about leaving,” Yunho tells her over the phone, speaking as quietly as he can as his woman is showering in the bathroom. “Take as long as you need. Oh, since you’re going to Beijing anyways, let me know if you’re interested in that CAE position and I’ll check to see if it’s still available to you, alright?”

Victoria nods. “Thank you, boss.”

“We’re friends,” Yunho reminds her, “I always have your back, okay?”

The running water stops and Yunho hurriedly hangs up with Victoria after telling her to stay safe and such and so. On some degrees, Yunho is a little bit like the big brother that she never had.

When Victoria once again stands on Beijing soil, it is not her only immediate family member left that greets her at the airport. There is an older gentleman, gray dusting in his hair but his posture just as erect and proper as it used to be, and beside him is a young man, tall and elegant, that are anticipating her arrival.

She approaches the old man with a small smile. “Anthony.”

“Miss Victoria, it’s been a long time.” Anthony smiles back.

Almost as though it is out of instinct, Victoria spreads her arms open and pulls Anthony in for a hug. His warmth is still the same as it used to be, however, he is skinner and smaller than before.

“You’ve grown up quite well,” Anthony teases her.

Victoria pulls away and plants a small kiss on his cheek. “Time does that, doesn’t it?”

“Yes, yes, even your Chinese is not quite up to par to the past,” Anthony agrees, “I’ve heard about your lover… I’m very sorry.”

Her smile falters but she regains her spirit quickly. Instinctively, she reaches for the locket around her neck and holds it gently between her fingers as she shakes her head. “I’m more sorry to have arrived so late. I was on a business trip and my phone was stolen, otherwise, I would have come right away.”

“Don’t be sorry,” Anthony tells her. “Oh, look at my manners! Miss Victoria, this is Master Kris; he is the eldest son of the Wu Family who has taken in Master Tao and several of us stewards and maidservants.”

She meets the young man’s eyes that are narrow and seemingly void of emotion, “Pleasure to meet you.”

“As for myself,” Kris politely returns, bowing at her slightly.

Victoria smiles as kindly as she can. “I really do appreciate everything that you have done for my family.”

“I’ve done nothing,” Kris excuses. “We should go, Tao is waiting.”

“Of course!” Anthony exclaims.

While they are in the car, Victoria asks, “Is Vincent still with us?”

“He returned to his hometown not too long after you left, Miss Victoria,” Anthony replies.

Victoria nods.

“I heard you graduated with your graduate degree not too long ago, Miss Victoria,” Anthony says, “you must have worked very hard.”

“I had time,” Victoria smiles in reply, “and my boss is quite lenient with my schedule.”

Anthony understands that sort of kindness. “Have you ever thought about returning to Beijing?”

“No,” Victoria lies, “I quite like France.”

“But I’m afraid the young master…”

Victoria calmly takes a breath and places her hand over his. “If he prefers to live in Beijing, I don’t mind, Anthony. I didn’t come back to bring him to France with me.”

“Miss Victoria, Master Tao will need a guardian, he’s only fifteen.” Anthony quietly reminds her.

Her smile stiffens a little. “If I could live with a distant relative from the year I turned four until I turned eighteen, I’m sure he can handle himself just as well for a few years before he becomes an adult.”

“Miss Victoria, I didn’t mean to—“

“Alright, Anthony, I know you mean well and so do I,” Victoria says, sighing, “we’ll deal with the matters at hand first.”

Anthony takes a moment to gather his thoughts. “You really have grown, Miss Victoria.”

She chuckles, once again holding her locket between her fingers. “Time does that you, Anthony. Doesn’t it?”

Victoria is beautiful, very beautiful—she’s the type of beautiful that captures your eyes in a moment of hesitation before drawing you in, slowly becoming more and more attractive the longer you look at her. She’s like a trap, the kind of trap that catches you and you in, wrapping its claws around your body layer after layer until you feel suffocated and cannot breathe.

She is the type of mesmerizing that doesn’t quite hit you right away but gets under your skin and sinks into your bones, much like poison.

These are Kris’s first thoughts of Victoria when seeing her.

Upon first eye contact with Zitao, Victoria freezes for the briefest moment. The child is taller than she expected but much skinner than she had imagined; he’s got dark circles around his watery, red eyes and his fingers are shaking as he hugs his knees to his chest.

To put it simply, he looks miserable and she wonders if this is what she must have looked like when she was still mourning the loss of Aiden.

With stuttering Chinese, she says, “Hello, I’m—“

She’s rehearsed this scene in her head many times before.

Does she introduce herself as his sister? But she’s never been by his side when he needed her. However, she’s not a stranger, either, because they are related and that is a fact that cannot be changed.

In the end, she chooses not to label herself. “I’m Victoria, nice to meet you.”

Although it doesn’t quite come out the way she had hoped, she supposes it will have to do. Yet, the moment she finishes her introduction, Zitao cries even louder than before and hides his face into his arms.

Victoria is at a loss of what to do. She turns to Anthony with eyebrows furrowed and takes a step back. “Maybe I should come back later—“

At that moment Kris is the one to step forward and wrap his arm around Zitao’s shoulders, pulling the young boy against his chest and soothingly rubbing his back. Zitao visibly relaxes and allows Kris to hold him, like a little lost child.

It is then that she realizes there is much for her to learn as a sister.

“You must be Victoria.”

The voice from behind startles her and she turns around, eyes meeting with another boy who appears to be around the same age as Zitao but has a striking resemblance to Kris. She nods at him, a little quizzed by the maturity in his eyes despite his young age.

In his eyes seem to hide a maze of amusement that she cannot read.

“I’m Sehun, Kris’s younger brother. We’ve been discussing about you quite a bit lately but you’re seriously nothing like what we thought you’d be.” Sehun smiles playfully.

Victoria smiles in return.

“Come in,” Sehun urges, taking her hand and dragging her inside. Losing her balance, Victoria can only obediently follow the young boy’s guide until she’s standing directly beside Zitao and Kris.

Sehun pulls Kris’s arms away and sits down next to them. “Tao, it’s your sister! Haven’t you always wanted to meet her? She’s here now, so why are you crying?”

And although Zitao doesn’t look at her, she can see him struggling to hold himself back. His fingers continuously wind round and round in his lap, form frozen as he stares down at the ground, sniffling loudly. Suddenly, she seems to understand something after she remembers what Anthony has written to her over the years.

Victoria says, “You can call me jiejie, I won’t hold it against you.”

Finally, the young boy glances up at her tentatively.

“I can call you Tao too, right?”

She hadn’t expected the young boy to pounce at her and engulf her into a hug. His arms are tangled into her long hair, wrapped around her shoulders as Tao buries his face into her neck. Out of instinct, she hugs him back just as tightly.

“Tao… I’m sorry.”

Zitao shakes his head, sobbing loudly. “Jiejie, mom and dad are gone… they’re gone. The first person I wanted to tell was you Jiejie but I couldn’t find you.”

“I know, Tao, I’m sorry…” Victoria says again. She doesn’t cry along with him but she feels something sour growing in her chest. From that day on, Zitao planted a seed within her; he is the only family she has left now… He’s the only one she’s got to love.

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A/N: I have decided to post and update my Changtoria story along with this one, just because I want to see which one I'll be able to complete first >_>

>>> Wing to Wing [Changmin/Victoria] <<<