Disclaimer I own nothing! Tim Burton does! The lucky bastard.

Warnings: Alternate Universe, Victor/Victoria, Corpse Bride/Victor, SPOILERS

CHAPTER ONE

Victor tapped on the large bay window of his fiancée and was welcomed almost immediately inside. His coat was torn, his appearance in disarray and he was panting harshly from his long run. Victoria watched him for a moment or two, unable to believe that her Victor had finally returned. "Victoria…" he whispered quietly, as if also in disbelief he could see her again.

Victoria then grabbed his hand and pulled him with her towards the fire as she said "Come, have a seat. You must be cold." Along the way she noticed just how thin his hand felt in hers, even thinner than on the day they rehearsed for the wedding. He had lost a little weight and that was not healthy in a man as thin as he was to begin with. "What happened to you Victor?" she added as he took his seat, her hand still resting over his. "You're as cold as death! You're coat…"

The poor young man seemed to sigh as if in defeat and Victoria could sense something was very wrong. He looked up at her again, his dark eyes shining with truth as he said "Victoria, I confess. This morning I was terrified of marriage. But then ,when I met you, I thought that our wedding could not come fast enough." He smiled slightly at her.

"Oh Victor!" she said, amazed at the confession he had just given and the feeling of her heart fluttering at the same time at the fact those words were just for her. "I-I feel the same."

They closed the distance between them and their lips gently pressed against each other for the first time. Hers were warm and soft like velvet, he noticed, and seemed to beg for more. Victor's lips felt thin against her own, the woman noted, and were cold from spending too long out in the snow. Victor then, unknowingly, deepened the kiss a bit, this time his frail hand caressing her cheek as her hands clutched at the lapels of his jacket. To them it was merely a few seconds but to the outside world they kissed for minutes on end.

Suddenly the door slammed open and in walked Victoria's parents, startling the young lovers apart. The lady of the house gasped in shock at the scene and the lord growled in anger. Victor's heart pounded. He had just been caught doing something that was considered very improper. "Mister Von Dort!" Victoria's father boomed. "This is most uncalled for in this house! What were you doing with my daughter?"

Victor's timid nature seemed to take over again and he began to wring his hands. "W-well, um, Mr. …um…"

That's when the glass door opened and Victor's 'wife' Emily walked inside, brushing her long veil from her blue, half decayed features as she said "Victor, darling, what's taking you so…"

Everyone stared at one another. Poor Victor. He was surrounded by hateful people now. "Who is she!" both Victoria and Emily spat at each other. The young man looked between the two of them, knowing no matter how he answered he was royally screwed. Not to mention the unnerving presence of his future in-laws…

"Um…uh…Vi-Victoria…I would like you to meet Emily…" he started and walked up between them. "E-Emily…um…this is…my fiancée, V-Victoria."

"Fiancée?" the Corpse Bride snapped. "You have no fiancée anymore! You're married to me Victor!"

"Married?" Victoria asked curiously.

The corpse smiled snobbishly. "Oh, didn't you know? I'm his wife." she showed the other woman the wedding ring she wore on her skeletal hand and the poor frail young man shivered. This was not going 'according to plan.'

"Victoria, it is an accident, I swear!" he said and picked up his wife's bony arm. "She's dead, see?"

This seemed to aggravate the corpse bride even more. She grabbed a hold on him, ensnaring him tightly in her clutches as she growled the words 'hop scotch', the magic words that would take them back to the land of the dead. Victor reached desperately for his fiancée, calling her name frantically. Victoria ran toward him and before the two disappeared leapt into Victor's arms, going with them into the land of the dead. Victoria's parents blinked and shook their heads in denial. What they had just seen was a nightmare and nothing more. When they would wake up, Victoria would still be there, awaiting her marriage to the other suitor they had for her.

When all three people reappeared in the land of the dead, Victor felt those bony hands push him in anger away from the half decayed body. He held on tightly to Victoria too, as if to make sure she was with him and didn't stumble as far as he would have gone because she was also taking a few steps to keep her balance. "You lied to me!" Emily shouted at him and turned around sadly. Apparently she didn't notice that Victoria had come along too. "You lied to me just so you could go and see that other woman!"

"Don't you understand? You are the other woman." Victor told her as he walked over to the other to console her.

"But you're married to me! Leave the other woman!"

The elder skeleton that had sent them to the land of the living to begin with sighed. "She does have a point." Victoria jumped at the heap of talking bones but said nothing. She simply watched her fiancé try to talk to the dead bride.

The blue woman started sobbing and dried her tears with her dress as best she could. "And I thought it was going to well!" Her eye popped out of her head and rolled to Victor's feet, the young man picking it up, much to Victoria's disgust, and bringing it back to her.

"I'm sorry." he said as he handed the eye back. "This just can't work."

"Why not? It's because of my eye isn't it?"

"No! Your eye is…lovely…" Victor turned and walked away from her to try and gather his thoughts. "Under different circumstances, who knows? But we're just too different. I mean, you're dead."

The corpse bride didn't seem to hear him and turned to walk toward him, the sadness in her eyes unmistakable as she approached. Victoria kept her tongue to herself, knowing that whatever was about to happen was not Victor's fault. He could not be blamed for any of this. Still, that didn't stop the pang in her heart when the corpse wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him down so his lips met hers in a kiss. His eyes widened. He didn't pull away, that would make matters worse, but he didn't respond either. When the half decayed woman finally did separate from him, she dried off a few more tears and said "It doesn't matter to me. That barrier can quickly be overcome. You just simply have to chose me or your mistress." Victor opened his mouth to answer but the corpse walked away from him saying over her shoulder. "Come and find me when you come to your decision."

Victoria then walked over to her fiancé and clung delicately to his arm. Victor looked at her and blushed a bit. She felt warm. "Oh Victor." she said and leaned against him. "That was awful brave of you."

Victor blinked and said "Oh…I-It's nothing." he said and looked away in embarrassment.

That's when he felt something build up in his lungs and he pulled away from Victoria to cough and get right of it. What started out as a small cough grew into a huge fit and before anything could be done about it the poor young man collapsed to his knees with their force and his whole form began to shake. His fiancée panicked. "Victor!" she cried!

Okay, Chapter One is finished. The more you review, the faster the update, m'kay?