A/N: I think this is the first Corpse Bride fanfic, yay! I haven't had a chance to search the misc. movies section, or all of livejournal yet, so I'm not sure. This fic is based on one of the clips in the new trailer, where Victor and the Corpse Bride are dancing in the forest. Though I did make on own tweaks to it. And I'll say that this story isn't in anyway a prediction of what will happen in the movie. This is just what came from my mind after watching that trailer a kajillion and one times XD.

OH! And when reading this, "Emily" is the corpse bride. I read that that's her actual name on a forum somewhere. I don't know how much that's true, but that's what I've been told. Sorry if I spoiled you or anything, but I don't know how much of a spoiler it is to know a character's name O.o

Anyway, that's enough with my babbling. I know you probably don't care either way XD. Uhm… yeah, this is Victor/Emily Corpse Bride st00f, because the trailers have caused me to fall in love with the pairing, despite the fact that I haven't even seen the movie yet XP

Disclaimer: All things having to do with "Corpse Bride" belong to Tim Burton n' Company. I'm merely a humble fanfic writer.

"Come With Me"

by: Marie Mikolay

"Come with me, Victor," Emily spoke quietly, even though there was no need to. She held out her good hand to him.

Victor glanced uneasily to her hand, then to her face, and back again. They were finally back from the Land of the Dead, but still in the dark forest, probably miles away from town. He knew he had to get back soon. Back to Victoria…

He continued to look at the half-decrepit hand that had been offered to him. He studied the tattered glove, noting each tear and dirt stain on the material. He thought of how beautiful that same hand must have looked years ago.

Emily noticed Victor's hesitation and only smiled warmly. "I know you want to go back," she told him, trying her best not to allow the painfulness the statement gave her audible or visible. Though by how she saw Victor's expression soften into the tiniest bit of guilt, she figured she didn't do much of a good job with it. "I want to show you something first though."

She kept her arm outstretched toward the man in front of her. She noticed that he was now less tense, but still looked somewhat confused on what to do. After a few moments of silence though, Victor let a small smile creep onto his face, and put his hand in hers. She smiled, happy that he at least wasn't afraid of her anymore. He didn't even seem to be bothered by the fact that she was tattered and torn… that she was dead.

Enclosing her fingers around Victor's hand, she turned and began leading him through the dense trees. Neither said anything, and every now and then, Victor would jump at the sound of his own feet snapping a twig, or crunching a leaf. Emily giggled to herself each time he did so. She found it cute for a man Victor's age to still be so timid and jumpy.

Unlike Victor had guessed, the trees seemed to become further apart the further they walked. He half expected the place she was taking him to be yet another hangout for the Dead, even though they were in the Land of the Living now. On the contrary though, Victor noticed that the forest around them was becoming less and less creepy, and all the more… beautiful. With more space between the trees, more moonlight made it's way through to the forest floor, shining everything soft silver. Victor turned his gaze from the scenery around him, to the person leading him, and suddenly became entranced. Her tangled and matted hair now flowed behind her, almost elegantly, glowing in the moonlight. Her thin arms didn't seem so deathly-blue anymore, and looked silky soft.

It took nearly all of his self control not to reach out to her, just to touch her. To make sure she was really there. To make sure she wasn't a spirit, or dream. Or to touch her, just to feel her skin on his.

Victor shook his head, snapping out of the trance. He mentally scolded himself, and continued to throughout the rest of the journey. He didn't notice Emily stop, and walked right into her. He immediately blushed and rambled out an apology. Emily just smiled, and turned her eyes from him, to ahead of her, not saying anything. And as expected, Victor did the same, and his voice trailed away into a soft gasp.

It was unlike anything Victor had ever seen before. The moon shone brighter than before, sending down what almost seemed like sparkles from the sky, shining from all directions. But the most amazing thing about the entire scene was the hundreds of light blue butterflies that drifted all about them, each and every single one bathed in moonlight. Their little wings reflected the moonlight, sending soft spots of light every which way.

Victor continued to gape at the beauty of it, not caring in the slightest that it was bad manners to stare open-mouthed at anything. Or that Emily was still holding onto his hand.

"It's…" Victor started to say. Though he found it hard to think of the right word; most of his mind was still in awe.

When he still didn't finish after a few moments, Emily turned to look at him. He then turned to her as well, eyes still filled wonder. And after a few moments, he finally finished,

"… Beautiful."

Emily's eyes widened, and knew she'd be blushing up a storm if it weren't for the fact that she was dead. Her sudden change in facial expression must've knocked Victor out of his reverie, because he blushed deeply, and turned away from her, looking quite embarrassed.

For a minute or two, the pair of them was silent, both just staring ahead, unsure of what to do or say.

Then Emily got an idea.

Still not letting go of Victor's hand, she moved to stand in front of him. He looked at her, confused. Smiling, she said, "Dance with me."

This caught him off guard. He nearly pulled his hand away from hers, but decided against it. Instead, he returned her smile and took a step toward her. Emily smiled even wider, feeling as if she were glowing.

She took a few more steps backward, though keeping her gaze on Victor. He followed her until they were in what looked like a circle of trees. She adjusted the hand that was holding Victor's so that her fingers intertwined with his, and then placed her bony hand atop his shoulder. He then followed suit and rested his free hand on her waist.

The entire time, neither of the two broke eye contact.

Both a bit shy at first, they swayed back and forth rather hesitantly. There was no rhythm to go by, so they merely relied on the sound of the chirping crickets in the distance.

After a few minutes however, the two started to become more comfortable with each other. Their dancing became less tense, and both started to flow freely with the other. They moved a bit faster across the forest ground, the moonlight playing on the two of them like a spotlight, and the butterflies seemed to be almost dancing along with them.

Victor had never experienced anything so surreal in his life, and he didn't think he was ever going to again. Though anyone else would think dancing with a corpse to be bizarre and morbid, (not to mention impossible) he knew that it was the complete opposite. Completely unlike his home life, where he had to be polite, polished, controlled, and never have any real fun. Why, if he hadn't met Emily that night, he may have never had found out what real fun and enjoyment was. He never would have experienced how amazing it was to dance with someone in the forest, bathed in silver moonlight.

He watched Emily as she slid away from him, spun around, and began laughing. He pulled her back in as she continued to spin and began laughing himself. She came to a halt in her spinning, against him with her hands resting on his chest. For a split second, both silenced, smiles fading into stares. But before either of them even comprehended the sudden spark, both burst out into laughter once more. Emily took a step back, sliding her hands into Victors, and began walking sideways. He did the same, arms outstretched to hers, holding on tightly. And in a matter of seconds, the two were spinning amongst the trees, their laughter echoing throughout the night.

Gravity began to play its part and Victor could feel himself losing grip on Emily's hands. He was so full of energy, so he decided to be the leader for once. He began to gradually slow his running, and pulled Emily in toward him. After a few seconds, he was able to pull her close enough while still continuing their spinning. With an arm around her back and waist, he then stopped his feet from moving any further, causing her to fall to the side.

It was a few moments later until Emily realized that she hadn't hit the ground. Victor's arms held her a good few feet from the ground, and he was bending over her, feet firmly planted in the ground. She smiled when she realized that he had dunked her, and very suavely at that.

In the midst of her fall, Emily's hands had automatically gone to Victor's shoulders for something to grab on to, and they remained there. He didn't make a move to help her up, but she didn't really want to move from the position. She felt a sudden warmth go through her, and couldn't help but let out a soft, and barely audible sigh. She couldn't tell if Victor had heard it or not. She hoped he hadn't.

There was something about the look in Victor's eyes at that moment. Something about the way the moonlight was shining in his raven hair, and reflecting the tiniest bit onto his face. Something about how his smile seemed like it was for her, and her alone…

Before she could tell her self to stop, she slowly lifted her head closer to his, and was both astonished and elated when he didn't make a move to pull away. For what felt like forever, Emily continued to inch closer and closer to Victor, pausing every now and then, still trying to get herself to stop. She tried desperately to keep telling herself that Victor didn't belong to her. He wasn't the one she was waiting for, and he had a life to go back to - a life that he wanted to go back to.

But what kept her from repeating this notion in her mind was the fact that Victor had yet to move away. Her eyes remained open, waiting for any signs of fright, or awkwardness from him. Anything to tell her that she shouldn't be doing what she was doing.

Though what happened next, shocked Emily more than anything.

Victor also began tilting his head to bring it closer to hers. This nearly caused her to pull back, but thankfully she hadn't. But, taking it as his movement as an okay, she let her eyes flutter close, and all hesitation inside of her ceased all at once.

Victor allowed his eyes to shut as well, though they pretty much did that on their own. He felt at peace, and more calm than he could ever remember being. Which was surprising, considering the situation he was in.

When Victor finally felt Emily's lips upon his, he nearly jumped. Though not in a frightened way, but more of a delighted, pleasurable kind of jump. He was a bit surprised at how warm and inviting her lips were.

The contact was light, lips barely meeting one another's, though neither of them wanted much more. Victor pulled Emily a bit closer to him, adding a bit more pressure into the kiss, but as much as to seem urgent about it. It was a soft, gentle, assuring kiss, and that was all either them needed at the moment.

Just something to let the other know what they wanted, and what they believed – that there was nothing in this world, or the next, that could keep them away from one another.

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A/N: yeah, I stole the last line from one of the several summareis for the movie XP

Anyway, feedback is nice n' such! XD