Warning: Not beta'd. Has not been edited.e

“Shim Changmin who liked to scold me; Shim Changmin who liked to laugh at me; Shim Changmin who sheltered me from the wind and rain and Shim Changmin who always bought me food. There are not a lot of people that I love, but within the limited list a majority of the names always seems to end or begin with Shim Changmin.”

Shim Changmin takes off his jacket and drapes it over Song Qian’s shoulders. She allows his jacket to engulf her, that familiar cologne invading her senses and drowning her.

“Let me help you.”

Closing her eyes, she asks, “Am I supposed to accept your help because you are my best friend’s husband or because you are Shim Changmin?”

“Because I am Shim Changmin,” he answers.

She sighs. “Why should I accept Shim Changmin’s help?”

“Simple,” he tells her, “because you said you love me.”

Song Qian bites down on her lips, feeling that familiar clench in her chest. “I’m not allowed these feelings.”

“You are.”

Suddenly, she feels cold fingers slip around hers and her hand is being pulled into both of his. When she opens her eyes, Changmin stares deeply at her as he brings her hand to his lips and blows a warm breath of air around them.

“You’re hands are still as cold as I remember,” Changmin adds.

She wants to pull back but he holds her firmly. “Let go.”

“Let me help you.”

She shakes her head. “I can’t.”

After a brief moment of silence, he takes a deep breath and lowers her hand from his lips. “Are you happy being a teacher?”

Song Qian nods and replies a considerably soft, “very.”

“In the past few years, you’ve been happily in love before, haven’t you?”

She remembers Kris and the few moments they spent genuinely together and nods again.

Smiling bitterly to himself, Changmin looks ahead into the calm rise and fall of the waves. “Song Qian, can you pretend that permitting me to help you in your troubled time is a form of charity?”

“Charity?” Song Qian echoes.

He blinks slowly, taking another deep breath. “In the past few years, you’ve achieved your dreams of becoming a teacher and you’ve dated a person of your own choice. Luhan, Minho, Liyin and Luna have stayed beside you and watched over you. Although I wronged you, you were the more fortunate between the two of us, weren’t you?”

Upon thinking it over, Song Qian slowly understands.

“Luhan and Minho don’t understand my position and Liyin was not of my choice for a wife; every day I wake up dreading the moment I open my eyes because the woman lying beside me isn’t you. I engross myself into my work, bury myself into my studies, all because I didn’t want to be home and look into a face that isn’t yours.”

She listens quietly, biting down on her lips.

“While you were hurting over my mistake, you were able to stand back on your feet and pursue your dreams. I, however, gradually lost my ambition and focus and began to distance from my friends. They say that the more fortunate should give to the less fortunate. Song Qian, can you give me a chance?” Changmin asks.

Slowly, she feels weight on her shoulders and she’s gently being lowered until her back meets with the warm sand. Changmin hovers above her, seconds elongating into a heart numbing eternity, until he finally leans forward and kisses just above her eyebrow.

“Give me a chance to make up for my mistakes,” he whispers against her heated skin. “Give me a chance to love you.”

She ran.

After struggling and breaking free from his cornering, Song Qian ran as fast as she could away from him. How long, how far, how quickly she ran were not in her consideration as she let her feet guide her away—breath weak, eyes red and nose stinging.

The next thing she knows, she’s standing face to face with her best friend of so many years.

Zhang Liyin reaches out towards her, wanting to ask her why she’s here and why she’s fighting so hard to breath. To her surprise, Song Qian slaps her hands away.

“The man I love is your husband and the man I used to love is the father of your child. What more do you want from me? Zhang Liyin, how much more will you hurt me until you’ll learn to stop?”

Her friend freezes, slowly lowering her hands to her sides.

“Shim Changmin told me to let him love me. Do you know what that means? You, Zhang Liyin; you were the one who sent him. Were you also the one who told him to say those words? What? Is this pity?” Song Qian scoffs.

Liyin’s chest rises with a deep breath, lips trembling as she forces back her tears. “I didn’t tell him to say anything.”

“Then why did you send him? What do you want?!”

“I want you to take him away from me!” Liyin shouts, finally losing her composure. “I want you to fight for him, to steal him, to do whatever it takes until he’s standing beside you. The one Shim Changmin loves is you, so why do I have to live with him every day of my life?!”

Song Qian is bound to the ground beneath her.

“You obviously love him, so why did you give him to me? Why have you never fought for him? Why am I always the bad person? Just because I’m the one who has the men beside me doesn’t mean I’m the happy one,” Liyin argues. “Do you think I’m any happier seeing how miserable the both of us are, just because one of us is too willing to let go while the other is too willing to accept?”

“I—“ Song Qian starts, but there really are no words she can speak to mend the wounds already created.

Zhang Liyin shakes her head. “Yes, I was the one who told Changmin to meet with you. A part of me knew he would confess his feelings and a part of me really wished he would. I’m not asking for a lot, Qianqian; I just want you to realize your feelings and start fighting for what you believe is worth it.”

“But Changmin…”

“I only have one question for you,” Zhang Liyin interrupts her. “To you, is Shim Changmin still the same Shim Changmin that you loved all those years ago?”

Song Qian hesitates before replying. “We’ve all changed.”

“Your heart,” Liyin says, pointing a finger over Song Qian’s chest. “Has your heart changed, too?”

“Liyin…”

Suddenly, Liyin smiles and pinches both sides of Song Qian’s cheeks. She says, “Good, the last thing I need is to know that what I’ve planned up until this moment has gone to waste. Divorces are a lot of work, you know.”

“Divorce?” Song Qian echoes.

Instead of answering, Liyin takes Song Qian by the hand and guides her into her house. The fresh smell of dinner and a small child sitting beside the dining table welcome her; it’s a whole new feeling that Song Qian has never known before.

Is this what her future will be like, too?

“Do you think I should change my baby’s surname back to mine?” Liyin asks.

Song Qian laughs in light of Liyin not so subtly changing the subject. “I think we both know of a couple of people who would be more than happy to provide a new surname for you and your child.”

The night before Luhan’s wedding he’s sitting in a bar with Minho and Changmin, celebrating the last of his single days. All three of them are already half drunk by the time it’s almost midnight and Luhan’s feeling every last bit of pressure on his shoulders leave him.

“You know,” Luhan mumbles, holding the neck of glass drink in between his fingers, “I really didn’t think this day would really come.”

Minho and Changmin laugh weakly. “Neither did we.”

Clamming his eyebrows together, Luhan turns to Minho on his left and says, “I thought you’d be the next to marry, to be honest.”

“Funny,” Minho shrugs, “I thought the same.”

On Luhan’s right, Changmin downs half of his shot and hisses between his teeth. Both men turn towards him and shake their heads in unison.

Luhan turns back to Minho. “You know what your problem is?”

“What?” Minho croaks.

“You’ve got no guts,” Luhan tells him with a click of his tongue. He then throws an arm around Changmin’s shoulders and draws him in while using his other hand to point at Changmin’s slowly darkening expression. “You should be more like your cousin; if you want something, go for it.”

“That wasn’t until recently,” Minho argues, “he was a total wimp all those years before.”

Luhan nods slowly. “Good point. Lesson learned.”

Irritated, Changmin shrugs out of Luhan’s grasp and waves at the bartender for another drink.

Rolling his eyes, Luhan wobbly forces himself to sit up and takes another sip out of his glass. “Do you have anyone in mind?” He asks Minho.

Minho shakes his head.

“Is that a lie?” Changmin adds.

Luhan laughs and punches Changmin in the shoulder. “Of course it is.”

“Just asking,” Changmin chuckles, sleepiness intercepting him, “out of politeness, you know.”

Frustrated, Minho chugs his drink and slams his cup on the bar counter.

“What are you afraid of?” Changmin asks him over Luhan.

Curious, Luhan sits back and glances over at Minho as the two of them wait for an answer. When no answer is received, Luhan laughs again and shakes his head. “What else could he be afraid of?”

“Rejection?” Changmin wonders aloud.

“Obviously,” Luhan nods.

Minho remains his silence.

“Are you certain you’ll be rejected?” Changmin questions once more.

Luhan rolls his eyes again, making him a little dizzy this time. “So what if he’ll be rejected? He should at least try.”

“Luhan…” Changmin frowns.

“I know, I know,” Luhan raises a hand in surrender, “Minho’s your baby cousin. I’m sorry.”

Finally taking a deep breath, Minho pulls out of his frozen state and sighs loudly. “It doesn’t matter. She’ll never return my feelings. It’s not like it really matters, anyways.”

“Who is it?” Luhan asks.

Shoving Luhan aside, Changmin clenches his jaw. “It’s not Song Qian, is it?”

Minho grimaces. “Ew, no. She’s like my best friend. Bosom buddies. Whatever.”

“Then why can’t you tell us?” Changmin presses forward, raking his fingers through his hair messily.

Sighing once again, Minho pulls out his cell phone and asks the two other men, “Do you guys know what day it is tomorrow?”

“The day I lose my freedom?” Luhan laughs.

Minho smiles, “Yes, that’s true, but it’s also a very important day for me.”

Changmin and Luhan furrow their eyebrows, awaiting the answer together.

“I’m taking the night flight back to South Korea. My parents say they need me. I don’t think I’m coming back.”

Song Qian doesn’t get to meet Luhan’s wife until the day of their wedding. It doesn’t upset her, really, because she trusts Luhan’s judgment in a good marriage partner.

Beneath the veil, Song Qian can vaguely see a pair of very clear and beautiful eyes.

“Hello, I’m Song Qian.”

Luhan’s wife nods and mutters a quick, “hello,” in reply.

Luhan lifts the ends of his wife’s dress and brings her a little closer to Song Qian. “You’re really late today. You were supposed to be my receptionist.”

“Sorry,” Song Qian apologizes with a small grimace, “the kids at school were giving me a bit of a hard time. Luna’s still dealing with them right now; otherwise she’d be here with me.”

Luhan shakes his head with a small pout but urges his wife to introduce herself.

“I’m Krystal. Thank you for coming today.”

Song Qian smiles warmly and says, “No, no, thank you for inviting me! I’m sorry I arrived so late! You look stunning! Luhan definitely has a set of good eyes.”

Although she cannot see for certain, Song Qian senses a smile from beneath the veil. Luhan smiles as well, soothingly running his hand up and down his wife’s back.

“Krystal’s been a nervous wreck because of this wedding,” he tells Song Qian.

Song Qian nods. “Everything looks great; the two of you did a very good job.”

“Thank you,” Krystal answers. It’s quite obvious that she’s much comforted by Song Qian’s words. Song Qian has that effect, though; everything she says sounds genuine and honest.

Smiling wider, Song Qian takes Krystal’s hand and holds it in both of hers. She glances between Luhan and Krystal, suddenly feeling very warm inside. “Luhan speaks of you often and every time he mentions you, there are only good words that come from him. You should know how rare that is. I can’t say I’ve known Luhan very long but as a good friend of his, I just want to thank you for taking such good care of him. I believe that you’re exactly who he needs and I’m very grateful that he was able to find you.”

“He’s spoken of you very often, too,” Krystal tells her, tightening her fingers around Song Qian’s. “Although not everything that he’s said has been good, I can tell that you are a very important friend to him. So, thank you for accepting me.”

Song Qian chuckles and then glares over at Luhan. “Krystal knows how to hit the bull’s eye, doesn’t she?”

“The very reason why she’s the one,” Luhan agrees, leaning in a pressing a kiss to Krystal’s cheek through the thin layer of lace.

Looking around, Song Qian notices all the people present and says, “Alright, there will be plenty of time for us to speak some more in the future so I better let the two of you go. If you need anything of me, just let me know, alright?”

The couple nod.

“Oh,” Luhan exclaims just as Song Qian is turning away, “Changmin and Minho took your place as receptionist so if you want to greet them they’re out in the front. You might actually want to have a talk with Minho.”

“Why?” Song Qian asks.

Luhan smiles and says, “He’s leaving for South Korea tonight; one way ticket.”

Honestly, there isn’t much for Song Qian to say to Minho, so she doesn’t ask him about South Korea and she doesn’t ask him about his current situation. All she does after finding the two men is accompany them and help them greet and guide the guests.

Once the wedding ceremony is coming to an end, Song Qian notices that Luhan is staring at her from the stage and directs her to an exact standing location once Krystal is preparing to throw the bouquet.

Contrary to her belief though, Krystal doesn’t throw the bouquet her way. Instead, the bouquet lands in Changmin’s hands and smiles, walking himself and the bouquet to where Song Qian is standing just beneath a pair of custom made doves.

Song Qian follows his line of sight and notices the birds, wings outstretched, each biting an end of a delicately crafted vine.

As she extends a hand to accept the bouquet from Changmin, many sets of eyes watching them carefully, she feels a cool object land against the tips of her fingers. When she glances at the bouquet, it’s an intricate diamond ring.

Changmin says,

“If you want to fly, then spread your wings and soar. If you want to land, then settle your feathers and rest. If you want me, I’ll be here; let’s fly together, wing to wing.”

And she’s staring into his eyes, heart thundering in her chest as she feels Changmin take the ring and lift her hand, a smile spread across his face. Her eyes don’t leave his, not even for a second, as he slips the ring onto her finger.

Every second that passes feels like an eternity.

He promises,

“That you won’t have to fight for anything else because I’ll provide everything that I can for you; that you won’t have to worry about me because each and every single moment of my life is in your hands. As long as you don’t say no, then the answer to everything else in your life from this moment on will be yes.”

Song Qian thins her lips, waiting—waiting for her heart to give an answer.

What is there left to wait for?

So, she nods, feeling her breath leave her when Changmin wraps his arms around her shoulders and pulls her flush against his chest. Her vision goes black when she closes her eyes, lines of tears trailing down her cheeks, but everything feels worth it when she opens her eyes again and it’s Changmin’s face she’s looking into.

And when she feels his lips against her, so foreign, every inch of her body goes numb and all she can do is kiss him back because—how long has she waited for this?

Changmin doesn’t say marry me because marriage to him was once used to his benefit. Changmin says “stay with me forever” because that’s a promise he’s never made to anyone else.

Song Qian doesn’t say yes, I will because she knows that empty promises hold no meaning to Shim Changmin. Instead, she asks, “How long is forever?”

“As long as you decide,” Changmin tells her.

She says, “Shim Changmin, forever, to me, is up until the moment I close my eyes and never open them again. Do you have the confidence to stay by my side for that long?”

“Even longer,” he answers confidently.

Changmin leans forward and seals his promise with a kiss.

“As long as my heart is still beating, I will always stand beside you.”

The End

A/N: This is a rather mellow ending, I admit. Wing to Wing feels like such a disappointment to me, but I hope you guys have been able to enjoy something of it out of the ten chapters. If you're interested in reading a Luhan/Victoria, check out [Promise Me Sunrise]. If you're interested in reading a Kris/Victoria, check out [Forsake to Foresee]. If you're interested in reading a Kai/Victoria, I'll be posting a 3-part oneshot (roughly 14k words) here shortly >>> [I Don't Need Memories].

Thank you for reading Wing to Wing. I promise I'll do a LOT better with my next Changmin/Victoria! See you guys in my next fics! Love always, ♥Xue