Victoria sat by the vanity in her room, brushing her hair out. Looking in the mirror she could see her husband, dozing off on the couch next to the roaring fireplace that flooded the room with dancing flickers of light. He looked completely and utterly exhausted.
She couldn't blame him. The past few days had been a nightmare for the both of them. But they made it through all right. And more importantly, in one piece.
She was excited, however. Her parents moved away to the countryside, as far away as possible from the village. They had been severely spooked out of their minds when Emily and her friends came to the Living world for the…other wedding.
"Victoria?"
She looked over to the couch; Victor sat up, rubbing his eyes tiredly.
"Yes, dear?" She asked.
He smiled in his usual, nervous way. "Do you remember what today is?"
"Of course." She smiled back.
They had no idea where to have their honeymoon until yesterday. Victor's mother had said that they were welcome to stay at their house, but that didn't sit well with Victor, and he firmly declined.
Victoria inwardly thanked him.
They stayed at Victoria's parent's house. At first, Victor was extremely skittish about the idea, mainly because he was afraid that her parents would unexpectedly show up. She reassured him otherwise.
He sighed. "So any ideas about- What are you doing?"
Victoria had unbuttoned the top part of her dress and slid out of the rest, revealing a rather uncomfortable-looking corset and a slip for underneath her main garment.
She turned to him. "It's almost evening; can you help me untie these laces? These things are digging into me."
He still looked mildly surprised, but walked over and began trying to unlace the strings. She arched her back a little to help him, and succeeded in cracking her back instead.
"I'm so happy I don't have to wear one of these," Victor muttered amusedly. "They look painful."
Victoria smiled to herself at his mood. She started to think carefully, and came up with something bold. A very improper thing, but bold.
"Well…" She tilted her head up towards him, "…There's an easier way to take it off…"
"What's that?" He asked distractedly, still attempting to maneuver the laces into a more workable condition.
"…It unhooks in the front too."
He stopped moving and looked at her in the mirror. She had her head tilted down, a faint tinge of pink on her face.
He cleared his throat, himself blushing. "Is that so…?" He looked away quickly. "That's…"
She turned her body to face towards him. "That's what?"
"Convenient." He finished quickly.
Victoria stood up and gave him a hug. "You're so adorable." She stood on her tiptoes and kissed him gingerly on the cheek. "Can you still help me take it off?"
"Y-yes." He coughed. "Yes, of course."
He tried not to stare at her chest; he really did. But she was so lovely in every way…
"Victor?"
He snapped out of it. "Yes?"
She looked at him shyly. "You seem to be distracted."
He tried to compose himself. "No! It's just- you're so…"
"I'm what?"
"…Lovely." He finished quietly. He looked at her straight in the face. "But- before I start to-" He motioned to the corset; he couldn't even talk straight. "May I do something?"
"What's that?"
Sweeping her into his arms he kissed her on the lips, shocking her greatly. She had not expected that.
He broke off the kiss and smiled weakly, still holding her in his arms. "I'm sorry."
"Don't be," She whispered. "I liked it."
"You did?" He said, amazed. "I thought I did it wrong…"
She took a few steps back and brushed her fingers through her long hair. "Oh no. You did perfectly."
It grew quiet for a moment, the both of them unable to look at the other. Finally, it was Victor that said something to break the silence.
He slowly extended a hand and grasped Victoria's own, gently pulling her closer to him. He lowered his face to her ear and spoke softly, little strands of her hair moving gracefully from his breath. "I don't have anything to offer in terms of…experience," He slid his hands onto her upper arms, gazing at her face in admiration. "But I…" He stopped to look at her face.
Her eyes widened, and quickly she shut them, embarrassed by her reaction to his words. Victor noticed this and hooked a finger underneath her chin, tilting her head up towards his. Glancing at her mouth he gave her a chaste kiss on the lips. He started talking again, his usual shyness barely noticeable.
"…I want to show you how much I love you, Victoria." He wrapped his arms around her waist in a loving embrace, taking in all of her beauty. Wide eyes, narrow waist, gorgeous hair… But best of all was her affections for him. And she knew he felt the same way about her. His cheek against her hair, he murmured, "I just don't have the slightest clue how."