They had fallen apart.

It hadn't seemed possible at the time, but they had burned too bright and too fast and when you stripped away the supernatural – they just weren't compatible. At least, that was what she'd told herself at the time, and the mantra she recited whenever something summoned images of her - of them - to the front of her mind.

Two years. Two years had passed since they'd spoken.

For a while after Carmilla left, it had hurt to breathe without her, and so Laura had let Danny kiss her through her tears until she couldn't breathe anymore. Danny didn't smell like vanilla and she didn't taste like stolen bites of brownies and her voice was strong and light and so not Carmilla that for a moment Laura forgot. She forgot why she was hurting and she forgot the beautiful agony of adoring and being adored and so when Danny had whispered the words 'I love you' into Laura's neck, Laura had whispered them right back.

In hindsight, it had happened more out of convenience than anything else. Danny was right for Laura, and Laura was right for Danny. Things were as they were always meant to be. She and Danny had spent the past Christmas with Laura's father, and the two of them had talked about sports and concealable defence measures and everything was working out just as Laura had expected - as she had been planning since she was six.

She was happy. She was really, truly happy.

Only, maybe she wasn't.

The Summer Society's annual Adonis festival was coming to a close, and Danny had truly gone all out for the big closing bash. It was beautiful – Danny had taken her the previous night to see the fairy lights woven between glowing lanterns which would cast a soft glow over the crowd.

Laura had awoken to an outfit laid out over a chair, and a note from Danny telling her that the girl would be putting the finishing touches on the party and that she should relax and enjoy herself. Laura smiled softly – Danny had an uncanny ability to anticipate Laura's needs.

The dress was beautiful, the note sweet and sincere, and the cocoa had both caramel and marshmallows, and yet Laura couldn't shake the bitter taste in her mouth, and she couldn't begin to explain the wave of tension that coursed through her body. It's the kind of gesture that she should have been swooning over – only she couldn't seem to bring herself to feel anything but ill. But she was meeting her girlfriend under a canopy of stars and mood-lighting and it was meant to be romantic and wonderful, so she wouldn't give the weight in her stomach any thought.

Danny greeted her girlfriend with a kiss, grinning from ear to ear and grabbing at Laura's arms excitedly, and Laura couldn't help but be happy for her. Looping her arm through Danny's, Laura let herself be led around the party. It was stunning – every detail thoughtfully planned out and prepared, and for a while Laura let herself live in the moment – get lost in the swirling galaxies, courtesy of the alchemy club, which formed a canopy over the event, and the tittering small talk of the crowd which seemed to hum with excitement and activity.

Something in Danny's demeanour changed about an hour into the party, and the two hour mark she pulled Laura into a quiet alcove. There was a nervousness and an excitement in her movements, and the smile on her face was so sincere and full that it seemed to give a certain light to her entire being. A little squeal escaped her mouth and she grabbed at Laura's hands, face shining as they flitted between Laura's curious eyes and her mouth as she laughed – unsure whether there was any other possible response to Danny's bubbling energy.

'What is happening right now Danny?'

The words came out in giggles because the absolute joy radiating off of the redhead was contagious and, smiling into Danny's earnest kisses, Laura looped her arms around the tall girl's neck.

'Ok.'

Danny paused, intertwining her fingers behind her girlfriend's back and, taking a moment to compose herself, rested her forehead against Laura's.

'I didn't tell you when I applied because I didn't want to get my hopes up but there's a research thing that's like, super selective and just an amazing experience and like, Italy is so, so beautiful and –'

Laura's mouth falls open and some involuntary noise of interruption cuts off the end of Danny's sentence as she processes the information that has just come flying out of Danny's mouth.

'Wait, stop – research thing? Italy? '

'And it's not too far away, really and I've looked into it and you can easily finish your degree by correspondence – you're already way ahead because of all the extra courses you've been balancing –there's even an exchange program I've been looking at. It's perfect for us. Nothing's holding us here.'

And then Danny is kissing her but Laura's head is still spinning and she can't quite understand what is happening and so she's pushing her girlfriend off of her and running her fingers through her hair and just trying to think for a second.

'What?'

She can tell by her tone that Danny's hurt but she doesn't quite understand why because she's the one who's had time to think this over and isn't getting this whole life-changing situation thrown at them in the middle of a goddamn party. Tears sting at her eyes and she's mad at herself for their existence as she smiles at a girl from her freshman lit class as she passes.

'Danny I can't do this right now – you need to get back to your party and I need-'

'Laura, what the hell?'

Danny reached forward, fingers tracing Laura's chin and pulling her gaze back to Danny's own, except that Laura was having none of it – fingers wrapping around slender wrists and shoving Danny away from her. Taking a step back as Danny tried again to coax her closer, Laura stopped her with a look that screamed 'get away from me', eyes swimming in the tears that she would not let fall in the middle of the goddamn Adonis festival.

'I need to clear my head. I'm going for a walk.'

And Laura walks away, ignoring Danny's protests. She's pissed off and there's an argument playing out in her head and all she wants right now is to drink and look at the stars. And so she has one or two or three cups of punch and she mills about and chats with her friends, finding a quiet place where the party is nothing more than a dull glow and a quite hum in the distance and she has one or two or three cups more.

In the morning there's a voicemail from Danny apologising and there's not a whole lot she can remember from the night before but she feels sick to the stomach and it's more than the hangover because there is something that she's forgetting.

There is a face, a voice – something that she should remember but doesn't.

'She still loves you, you know?'

And Laura sits bolt upright because she might not be able to remember the face behind the words but she knows who they refer to and it is not her girlfriend.