Andrea had a love hate relationship with these banquet evenings. The stunning dresses that brought out the colour of her wife's eyes and made them shine like stars, also highlighted the ribs that had nothing but paper masquerading as skin covering them. The one time Miranda finally got even close to enough calories was because she had at least 50 people watching her- and once they had stopped the calories would have to be expelled; one way or another.

She continued to walk around the room, nodding in recognition to those she had known whilst in RUNWAY and those she had met since. She turned as she felt a hand on her shoulder.

"Are you ready to leave darling?" before she could answer, there was a voice to her left,

"You can't leave before the dinner Miranda"

"And why not?" she drawled

"Sweetheart" began Andrea "I think we should stay - at least until the end of dinner, then we can go. okay?"

"Hmm" Miranda reluctantly agreed.

Ten minutes later, when the bell rang everyone sat to dinner. Andrea was placed beside her wife, with Emily to other side of her.

The first course served was toast with duck pate and side of fresh garden salad. It was delicious. Andrea pretended not to watch as her wife scraped the pate off the toast and hid it under the lettuce, or how she proceeded to eat only the vegetables from atop said salad.

The main course served was a traditional Sunday dinner. With herb stuffing chicken and mash potato with vegetable and gravy. Again Miranda hid as much of the chicken under her mash as possible. Before discreetly placing items of food into her napkin, and placing it into her handbag.

The final course was a trio of mini deserts, a chocolate caramel fondant, a black forest gateau and a white chocolate and raspberry meringue. Once the final course was over, and the bread and cheese platters were distributed among the tables, Miranda wiped her mouth and excused herself for the bathroom. Being that the dinner was in the Elias Clarke building, the white haired woman made her way up to her office in order to use her own private bathroom.

Andrea waited for her wife to enter the lift, counted to thirty and then excused herself. She followed the same path her wife had taken just moments before. Once the doors to the lift have closed she dug in her handbag, she found a bobble and tied her hair back. She then took out breathe freshener, chewing gum, tissues and a travel sized version of Miranda's perfume and lipstick. The lift doors pinged open and she began the long clack to her wife's office. She entered the office, placing her shrug and handbag on the chair in the middle of the room, and moved behind the desk to the entrance of the personal bathroom. She watched in the sliver of the open doorway, as the beautiful white haired creature sat on the toilet seat. She removed heavy jewellery, her shawl and shoes, before climbing on to the scales. From the drop her shoulders and the quiet sigh - she did not like what she saw. Andrea knew what came next, knew she shouldn't watch - but she found her feet to be firmly planted, she was unable to move. Miranda slowly pulled the soft silk material of her dress to her knees, and proceeded to kneel as though the white porcelain fixture in front of her was a priest, and she a good catholic woman. She lifted the lid, and using toilet roll she gave the seat a wipe. She knelt her left elbow on the seat and lay her cheek in it. She stilled for a moment as if to gain some courage, before her right hand disappeared. Andrea closed her eyes as the retching echoed off the walls of the bathroom and replayed themselves in her head, gaining volume as she waited. Finally it was over. Miranda flushed the toilet and closed the lid. She lay slumped over it as her shoulders began to shake, Andrea opened the door just as the shakes turn to sobs.

"honey?"

Miranda jumped, and turned to see her wife. In an effort to hide her transgressions, she made to get up, and wiped her face with her arm.

"Don't love - don't"

Miranda nodded silently and moved so she was sitting with her knees to her chest. She looked so small, so helpless. Andrea moved forward and knelt beside her, she kissed the editor on the cheek end silently helped her to sit on the toilet seat. She retrieved the glass from beside the sink and filled it with water, her wife took it from her before swirling the water in her mouth and turning to spit it out, she turned back o Andrea.

"Open up" Miranda silently obeyed. Andrea sprayed the breath freshener in her mouth, and placed a piece of chewing gum on the older woman's tongue. As she lifted her hand away, Miranda grabbed it and brought it to her mouth, where she kissed it, she then used it to cup her cheek. She closed her eyes as the tears fell silently. The two women sat like this for a few minutes, Andrea kissing Miranda until the tears finally slowed. Miranda kept her eyes closed as Andrea proceeded to fix her makeup. When her wife was done Miranda opened her eyes and gave a weak smile.

"All done" said Andrea as she put the makeup by the sink. "You look good as new". Miranda stood and guided Andrea to the seat, she delved into one of the drawers and found hairbrush. She took the bobble out of Andreas hair and brushed it for her. Andrea leant back towards her wife as the soothing repetition bean to lull her to sleep. Miranda took the opportunity to bend down and kiss her young wife on the cheek, the neck, then the bosom. Andrea reacted violently, suddenly she was pissed. This was not a romantic setting, this was not a time for two lovers to frolic in the bathroom. This was a time to show her wife what it meant to be alive. What she could- would lose. Andrea reached around with her hand to pull her wife closer. She grabbed Miranda's neck and pulled her back so her mouth was in reach. She forced their two mouths together, knowing the two would be bruised. It did not matter. this wasn't about marks or beauty- this was about pain, or lack of it. She would show Miranda. Prove to her. Andrea stood off the toilet, grabbed her wife's two hands and pushed her against the bathroom wall. Miranda gave a noise of discomfort. Andrea did not stop. She was biting and clawing at her wife. This woman would know she would know if it fucking killed her. Andrea refused to live without her, refused to allow this woman to take the most important part of her life away from her. She moved her lips to the editors neck where she began o suck and bite. Miranda moaned, begging Andréa to stop whilst simultaneously pushing the brunette closer to her.

"Andréa- stop" the brunette continues to scratch and claw at any part of her wife she could find, she needed to know this woman was still alive, that there was still something to fight for. She found he wife's breasts and continue to leave heart shaped bruises. Her long nails dragged down Miranda's back. "A-Andrea...darling stop...you're hurting me." The switch flipped, Andrea jumped back from her white haired lover; so hard she pushed her back into the wall. Miranda, sill shoeless, fell to her knees on the ground. She watched her wife intently, she was able to see the moment Andrea came back to earth.

"oh my god I-" Andrea stared at her hands, two nails were broken from the force of the scratches "Oh my g-"

"Andrea" The brunette looked at her wife over her hands, before placing one around her waist and one over her mouth. "Don't, don't" Miranda stood up and made her way to her young wife, who backed away from her. "Andrea?"

"I'm sorry Miranda. I'm sorry I-" The brunette ran. Pausing only to collect her handbag from where she had left it on the way in.