She manages to doze off for a little but it never lasts for more than a few minutes at a time.

In all honesty, her parents’ divorce isn’t entirely what’s causing her to feel so unhappy—after being informed that her parents were staying together unhappily because of her and are only now separating is what bothers her. She understands that they were trying to prevent her from being effected by the status of their relationship, but had she really seemed that weak in the eyes of her parents?

Victoria felt as though everything she’s done all her life has been wrong.

If she continued her ways, would Luhan leave her, too? Does Luhan feel this way about their relationship sometimes—that it’s forced and uncomfortable and that he wants to break free?

A part of her is beginning to fear; the fear of losing Luhan, the fear of being the reason for his suffering, and none of that is something that Victoria wants. At this very moment, all she wants is to see Luhan with her own eyes, to hug him and feel the warmth of his body against hers.

To some she may seem selfish, but there’s not much else she can think of in order to soothe her own mind.

The longer she stays in her room alone, the more these types of thoughts come to haunt her. There are many paintings on her walls—art: that was a part of her past she had to leave behind.

Knock, knock.

Not thinking too much about it, Victoria beckons for the person to enter her room. She’s staring intently at the canvas sitting by her window, the descending ray of darkened sunlight illuminating her painting, deep in thought, trying to remember what it was she was feeling when she painted that portrait.

There’s a bit of rustling and she figures it must be the maids setting dinner in her room. Her parents have still yet to return home from work, but she knows they are more than likely purposely avoiding her for the time being.

Yet, unexpectedly, a set of arms wrap around her shoulders and she’s engulfed by that familiar cologne that is unique to Luhan.

“Did you miss me some more?”

For the first time in the past day and a half, Victoria smiles. She lifts her hand to the back of his head and runs her fingers through his hair, leaning the side of her head against his. Why does everything suddenly feel so surreal? “I didn’t stop missing you, even for a moment.”

It feels so indescribably good hearing those words from her lips. Luhan places a small kiss to her cheek and pulls her closer; her body was much colder than he expected. “You should wear a thicker robe; it’s cold in your house.”

Victoria shakes her head.

When Luhan entered the room, Victoria’s back faced the door; she looked so incredibly small as she stared towards the window. Her white gown and loosely laid hair gave off the impression that she was but a child—a helpless child who knows of nothing. It made Luhan want to protect her more.

Eventually Luhan shifts himself so that he’s leaning against the backboard of the bed, Victoria maneuvering herself to fit right against his chest between his legs. With Luhan, she always feels pampered, even when she doesn’t really need it.

Perhaps it’s Luhan’s way of proving that he’s no less of a man just because he’s a few years younger.

Victoria asks Luhan to speak to her so Luhan tells her about the last time he went for a basketball match with Kris and Xiumin, and how he had lost so badly but it was an unfair game because he was distracted. Sides like this of his are childish, pouty, and a little mischievous, but it doesn’t make Victoria feel put off.

Why is it that Luhan can be so at ease with himself when he’s with Victoria, but most of the time she cannot do the same?

“Ah! That’s right,” Luhan suddenly exclaims, startling Victoria. He chuckles and lifts her out of his embrace, reaching for his bag he set down on the ground beside the bed. “I got you something.”

“Again?” Victoria furrows her eyebrows.

Luhan ignores her, pulling out the gift bag that he so carefully placed inside. The first one he opens is the pair of sunglasses; he wears the female pair on Victoria and it successfully covers up half of her face, then he wears the male pair on himself.

“Why do we need sunglasses?” Victoria asks curiously, moving the sunglasses around until it sits on the bridge of her tall nose comfortably.

He pinches her chin and lifts her face to get a better look. “This way people can’t see what we look like and you won’t be so self-conscious of how people view us when we’re out together but they’ll know we’re a couple.” After he says that, he plants a brief kiss on her lips, their sunglasses colliding with a loud click. “It’s a little inconvenient though, I admit.”

They laugh about the sunglasses for a bit until it becomes boring and Victoria slips them back into their respective cases. Luhan then brings out a smaller jewelry box and tells Victoria to open it.

“You have to always wear this,” he says, “especially since I’ve never seen you wear the watch I bought you.”

“I told you I don’t like wearing jewelry,” Victoria purses her lips. Luhan pinches her lips before laughing and drawing the box from her hands. He extracts the necklace carefully and insists on strapping it for her as well.

The back of her bare neck is revealed to him after he collects her long, black hair and tosses it over one shoulder. Gently, he locks the necklace on her and softly kisses the pearl-like skin of her shoulder. “I want this necklace to give you more courage and strength. I’ve always wanted to tell you that you don’t need either of the two when you’re with me, because I’ll stand in front of you and protect you from everything, but I know that you won’t take my words to heart so easily.”

“Thank you, Luhan,” Victoria whispers, taking his hand into hers.

He shakes his head and pulls her back against his chest. The rate of his heartbeat is phenomenal.  “You don’t ever need to thank me either, alright? I do everything that I do because I want to, because it’s for you, so you don’t have to thank me.”

Victoria feels her tears welling up in her eyes again. Something in her chest aches and her nose is running a little sour.

It was Luhan—it’s only Luhan that can make her feel this way. So, Victoria grips onto his hand harder and silently cries in his gentle hold. Luhan wipes away her tears with his fingers carefully, delicately, his other hand her back in a soothing pattern.

Although it hurt him to see her in this state, it made him feel more needed than ever before.

She feels a lot better after that night, having Luhan by her side as she falls into a deep slumber. When she wakes, Luhan has also fallen asleep on the bed, holding her hand securely and protectively in his own. They never really had a chance to talk about her worries or the concerns that were weighing heavily in her mind, but that’s because she soon forgets them.

Why had she ever doubted that Luhan would one day abandon her? Right now, it feels as though they were the only two people in the world. This is all she needs, she thinks. Luhan—he’s all she needs.

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A/N: Woot! My first Luhan/Victoria (romance)! Haha. Next up is a Minhyun/Victoria that I've been working on and off of for almost a year now... Hopefully you all enjoyed Misfits, and it was nice to meet and greet each of my commentors! Much love!!! ♥Xue