Cather glanced up and noticed Levi, leaning against their kitchen counter, his long fingers drumming against the peeling countertop. She narrowed her eyes at him and pushed her hair of her face. Levi offered a faint smile and nodded his chin towards the small stack of envelopes on the center of their kitchen table. An excruciatingly familiar collegiate logo stared up at Cath and she practically dove across the room in attempt to snatch it up. Levi snorted.

Cath stared down at the envelope and felt her heart begin slamming against her ribcage. Don't panic. Don't panic. Don't. Panic, she commanded herself and repeated the words as if they were an old and trusted mantra. Cath spared a glance toward Levi, hoping for some sort of reassurance. Their eyes connected and the corners of his mouth turned up slightly. It wasn't a full blown Levi smile but Cather would take it. He winked at her and Cath nodded. She was only delaying the inevitable.

Turning the envelope over in her hands, Cather willed herself to stop trembling. And, before she could talk herself out of it, she ripped the parcel apart and opened the folded contents. Her eyes quickly darted over the introductory letter and she exhaled loudly. Cath could feel the heat rising in her cheeks.

"Baby?"

Levi took a cautious step towards her. Cath glanced up at him and noticed, distantly, that her glasses had begun to fog over due to the tears collecting in her eyes. His face fell and he walked confidently toward her. Levi reached his long arm out to close the kitchen door behind her and wrapped the other around Cath's shoulders. She had forgotten to close the door when she came in and vaguely noticed the thin layer of snow that had drifted in behind her.

Levi wrapped his other arm around her and pulled her flush against him, peppering her snow soaked hair with kisses.

"It'll be okay," he said, his voice muffled by her thick hair. "There are other programs out there. And besides, screw 'em." Levi leaned back and smiled sadly down at Cath. "If they don't want you, how great can they be?"

Cath let out a startled laugh and pushed herself out of Levi's embrace. "No, Levi- I…" Cath's voice dropped to just above a whisper. "I got in. I got in."

Levi blinked down at her in surprise and grabbed the now crumpled acceptance letter out of her hands. He stared down at the letter before letting out a loud yell and wrapped her up once more in his arms. Cath let out a started laugh and returned her boyfriend's embrace, gasping for air as he simultaneously pushed the tears out of her eyes and the air out of her lungs. Levi gently set her down and cupped her face in his hands.

"I love you, Cather. I am so proud of you. You're so smart, babe, and I love you," he exclaimed and pressed a quick kiss to her mouth. Cath beamed up at him.

"I think you're more excited about this than I am," she said.

Levi grinned at her but shook his head. "No. I'm just so fucking proud of you. Watching you stress out over the applications and God, just waiting for the damned letters. It was all worth it, baby." Levi bent down and kissed her once more. He rested his forehead against hers and ran his thumbs over her cheeks.

"Just think – this time next year? I'll be in New York… at Sarah Lawrence," Cath said. At the mention of New York, Levi's eyes flew open and he stared at Cath, frowning slightly. He stepped back from her, dropping his hands from her face, and turned his back to her. Cath bit her lower lip and watched as Levi ran his hands through his hair.

"Hey, Levi – I'm sorry. I shouldn't have mentioned New York. I know it upsets you."

Levi reached the counter and turned towards Cath, resuming his previous stance. He leaned back easily, shrugging his shoulders. Cath took a step towards him, suddenly unsure of herself, and frowned.

"Don't look like that, Cather. That's a conversation for another day," Levi said. His voice was light and airy and Cath wondered how difficult it was for him to sound so nonchalant.

"I don't really understand why it has to be a conversation," she replied. Levi raised an eyebrow. "The MFA program should only take two years to complete and I'll be home on breaks. Easy peasey and I'll be back before you know it."

"I… don't think that 1,200 miles can be considered 'easy peasey,' Cath. That's a twenty hour drive. 730 days. That's a really long time," Levi said softly. He dropped his gaze to his hands and began picking at a callous on his palm. Cath narrowed her eyes at him.

"Like, I said – school breaks. Holidays? Ever heard of them? And technology is amazing these days, I hear. There's this new thing called Skype and besides, couples do the long distance thing all the tim-"

"Cather, can we please not talk about this right now?" Levi looked at her once again, his eyes pleading. Cath started at how hurt and… resigned her boyfriend looked at that moment. She nodded and closed the distance between them, sliding her arms around his waist and resting her head against his chest. Cath listened to Levi's heart beating wildly and squeezed her eyes shut, trying to ignore the nagging thought that, in Levi's mind, their relationship had just been dealt a death sentence.

Levi slid his arms around her shoulders once more and pressed a kiss to the top of her head. He sighed into her hair before saying, "Hey, this is a good thing, remember? Let's go out to celebrate."

Levi kissed Cath softly against her temple and worked his way out of her grip. He winked at her once more before stepping out of the kitchen and Cath heard him bounding up the stairs.