(( Hello~ So next week is the year aniversary for this~ But only one person has put up anything on the fan event ;o; Was it a bad idea? Angel and I wanted to do something to show our love for your support, and that seemed like a fun idea, but maybe not. If interested and the document won't let you edit it, you can always send in a pm on here or an ask on tumblr

Also when I hate the time to I'll be fixing up the last few chapter titles. I haven't found the chance to dig through song lyrics to name the chapters lately))

"Yifan?" Victoria asked when she heard the voice on the other line. “Why are you calling so late?”

"Yeah. I... I need you to me a favor," the other replied, and Victoria's eyes flickered to the clock on her oven.

"Well you better make it quick, ZiTao's going to be here in a few minutes," she said, frowning when Yifan paused.

"I need you to... take care of ZiTao for me." Victoria frowned.

"What do you mean 'take care' of him? I take care of my baby just fine, are you trying to imply something different?" she asked in a defensive tone that started to ease when she heard Yifan take a shakey breath.

"No, I know you take care of him, and that's why I'm coming to you with this. I'm... not coming back from China."

"Did you and your boyfriend decide to get married and settle down there or something?" Victoria shot back, wondering if it was in bad taste when Yifan fell silent again. "Yifan?"

"No, he... he and I broke up. But that's not why I'm staying here. My father needs me to start taking care of things at his company, since he has to spend so much time with my mother now that her condition has worsened."

"Ever hear of something called a long distance relationship?" Victoria deadpanned.

"Look, I feel like enough without your commentary, and I know I'm going to feel even worse when ZiTao finds out. I would have called you yesterday, but... I was hardly able to stomach the distress that I felt from Yixing. Any added pain I would have felt from ZiTao might have killed me." Victoria fell silent for a long moment, the crack in Yifan's voice making her soften a little. "I hear that Jongin is planning to move out of the dorm, so that probably means that Sehun will soon. I just... Don't want ZiTao to be alone. Please take care of him. I know at least you won't fail him." Victoria was stuttering for her words when she heard a knock on her door, Suli calling that she would get it, and the brunette sighed.

"I'll take care of him. You better try your damnest make it up to him one day," she said before ending the call and turning to ZiTao, who was sliding off his shoes. Suli stepped past him, giving Victoria a peck on the cheek before she was headed back towards the door.

"See you around Unnie," she called, Victoria offering a distracted wave before she looked back to ZiTao.

"She didn't have to leave," the blond pointed out and Victoria shook her head, leading him to sit on the couch.

"She wanted to give us a day where it's just you and me. We haven't had one of those in a while," she explained and ZiTao offered a smile. "Now... I have something we need to talk about, and it's not going to be fun," she continued and his smile fell.

"What... What is it?" he asked cautiously and Victoria took a slow breath, looking down at their hands as she took one of his in her own.

"Yifan... He isn't coming back from China." ZiTao stared at her for a moment before he laughed, shaking his head.

"Of course he is, he's coming back today. I thought it was supposed to be yesterday so I stayed up late waiting for him to say he was on his way back thinking I could make something for him to eat when he got home. We didn't... Say goodbye on a good note, so I wanted to try and make it up to-"

"ZiTao, listen to me. I'm serious, he isn't coming back. I just got off the phone with him. He said he has to stay in China." she looked up to his wide eyed expression, feeling a tug at her heart.

"But... But he has to come back. He... He's my mentor, he's my p-platonic so..." the younger's voice cut out and he looked down, trying to blink away his tears. "Why... Why wouldn't he say goodbye? Why didn’t he... He call me and tell me... Why isn't he coming back?" ZiTao rattled off, hands coming up to hide his face as tears trailed down familiar tracks and Victoria pulled him against her chest as he let out his first sob. "D-did I do something wrong? Is that why he didn't tell m-me?" Victoria cringed at the question, holding him tighter and threading her fingers through his hair.

"No, sweetie no, it's not something you did. Yifan, he... He was only supposed to be here for four years. He was an exchange student just like you are, and his family is back in China. That's why he never became a citizen of Korea like I did, because he was planning on going back after he graduated. I think he planned on becoming a citizen, but then things happened with his mother, and he didn't have the time to give it much thought. He told me that she's gotten a lot worse... Which probably means that she won’t be around for much longer, and Yifan needs to spend what time he can with her and help out his father..." Victoria explained slowly between hiccupped breaths that the younger took in and she pulled him as much into her lap as she could without him completely sitting in it, rocking him like a crying child.

"I wanna go back, I wanna go home, I don't want to live here if Ge isn't here, it's not fair that Yixing-Ge gets to be with him and I don't!" ZiTao sobbed and Victoria winced, stopping her rocking.

"That's the thing, ZiTao. Neither of you get to be with Yifan." she felt the blond tense in her hold, trying to peek up at her.

"W-what?"

"Yifan broke up with Yixing before sending him on the plane home yesterday."

"B... But isn't Yixing-Ge an exchange student?" Victoria shook her head.

"No. You're more likely to one day see Yifan again that Yixing is. And after the pain Yifan caused his boyfriend, I don't know if Yixing would even want to see him," She replied, and ZiTao pressed his face into the side of her neck, holding onto her a little tighter. Victoria continued to run her fingers through his hair until his trembling stopped and she shifted him so that his head was in her lap when she noticed that he had fallen asleep, sighing softly and looking over at her mobile. You better have a good reason for all of this, Yifan, she thought bitterly, pulled from it when she heard ZiTao let out a small whimper and she turned her attention back to him, going back to his hair.

ZiTao stayed asleep for close to an hour, and when he sat back up and wiped at the dryed tears on his cheeks he didn't look like the nap made him feel any better. He sniffled a little, one hand coming up to rub at his eyes and Victoria reached out, running her fingers through his hair.

“This just isn't my week,” he mumbled, Victoria’s eyebrows knitting together.

“What happened this week?” she asked, ZiTao biting at his lower lip.

“I… made out with someone at a party… and let him give me a hickey… And then we cuddled while we slept without our shirts on, and Minseok-Hyung walked into the guy’s ex yelling at him for hooking up with someone when they had only been broken up for a few days,” he explained slowly, fidgeting a little. When the brunette was silent for a long while he looked up at her, halving a second to wonder why she was grabbing one of the couch pillows before he was hit in the shoulder with it, causing him to jump. “J-jie-”

“Why! Would! You! Cheat! On! Minseok!” she scolded, hitting him with the pillow after each word, huffing as she frowned at his startled expression.

“I-I didn't… I mean we didn't…” tears pricked the corners of the blond’s eyes and he looked down at his lap again, curling in on himself. “I was mad at him because he never spends time with me… and he was supposed to go to the party and by the time he canceled I had taken several shots because everyone was playing this dumb kissing game and even though I said I wasn't playing they wouldn't let me out of it. I took the shots so I wouldn't have to kiss anyone, and then Minseok-Hyung said he wasn't coming so I went to bed, but Chanyeol-Hyung was in my bed and he wouldn't leave and he asked me to kiss him and I made a mistake and said yes!” ZiTao’s voice rose as he recalled all the events, gripping the hem of his shirt tightly.

“I made a mistake, and I make Hyung cry and I don't think he's ever going to want to see me again… he was hurting just like I was, but I only thought about myself, and now I've lost two of the most precious people to me…” ZiTao said, Victoria fighting the need to pull the curled up blond against her again.

“Did… Minseok tell you that he didn’t want to see you?” she asked, ZiTao sniffling a couple of times before he replied.

“He said we needed to go on a break… So he could deal with what I did. I asked if he was breaking up with me, and he s-said that wasn't what taking a break meant. And Sehun and Jongin have been busy or with their own boyfrinds a lot, so Chanyeol’s been the only one I've really talked to because he understands the situation.” Victoria frowned.

“Has this guy just been coming over a lot?” ZiTao shrugged.

“He… Needed a place to stay for a couple of days because his ex changed the locks on their door, and he had to wait for Kyungsoo-Hyung to come back a few days later so he stayed in Ge’s bed… but he's been coming over for a couple of hours the last couple of days and we’ve been becoming friends…” He swallowed hard, looking up at her mildly irritated expression.

“He… Needed a place to stay for a couple of days because his ex changed the locks on their door, and he had to wait for Kyungsoo-Hyung to come back a few days later so he stayed in Ge’s bed… but he's been coming over for a couple of hours the last couple of days and we’ve been becoming friends...” He swallowed hard, looking up at her mildly irritated expression.

“ZiTao,” she said in a warning tone and he groaned, draping himself over the arm of the couch. “Spending time with the guy you cheated with is not how you get your boyfriend back,” she said, watching him for a long moment before she shook her head. “I know I sound like I’m being hard on you, I just… Yifan asked me to take care of you.”

“You always take care of me, almost as much as Ge does-… did.” Victoria winced when ZiTao corrected himself, taking a slow deep breath.

“Come on, I get the feeling that you haven’t eaten yet. Let’s go get you something to eat,” she deterred, standing and offering a hand to the younger. He looked to her hand, then up at her face before taking her hand and letting her help him off the couch, leading the way from her apartment. With how little of an appetite ZiTao had dinner didn’t take long, and while they were waiting for the check the blond asked if he could go home instead of staying the night. Victoria frowned a little, but nodded, and once they were finished she walked him back to the dorms, rubbing his back as he kept his attention on the ground.

“Goodnight Jie,” ZiTao said, starting to walk away once inside only for Victoria to catch him and pull him against her chest in a tight hug.

“If you need anything, no matter how big or small you think it is, promise you won’t hesitate to call me. I love you so much, and I will do everything to fill Yifan’s place the best that I can,” she whispered before releasing the younger as the door to Sehun and Jongin’s room opened and the youngest stepped out. ZiTao quickly slid out of his shoes, giving a half-hearted wave to Sehun when the other welcomed him home, and the two watched ZiTao disappear behind the door to his own room.

“Noona, what’s wrong?” Sehun asked, pulling her attention to him and she bit the inside of her lower lip.

“Do you know about ZiTao and his new… friend?” she asked, and the other’s head quirked to the side a little. “He told me about what all happened at the party that happened last week, and about how he and the guy he messed around with have been hanging out a lot recently,” She explained. “I know I’m not his mother, but spending time with this guy is the last thing that’s going to help fix things between him and Minseok, and I don’t know if he’ll listen to me since he thinks that this guy’s the only one who wants to spend time with him. I just don’t want to risk the chance that they could do something together again… I know ZiTao didn’t seem interested in Minseok in the beginning, but he does care for him. He was stupid, and no one deserves what Minseok is going through, but,” she trailed off, sighing as she ran a hand through her hair.

“Don’t worry Noona. Jongin-Hyung and I will do what we can.