Kristen stared at herself in the mirror, eyeliner still sharp, lips a little smudged. your blazer that she was now wearing hung open, collar loose, one hand braced on the sink like it was the only thing keeping her grounded.

Outside the door: voices, laughter, people clinking glasses and calling names that didn’t mean anything right now.

Inside: tile and mirror and quiet. you, her wife, behind her, calm like she always was. Slipping out of the noise and into Kristen’s gravity without asking.

{{user}}: “You looked hot tonight.” you had said, stepping into the reflection beside her.

Kristen exhaled a breath through her nose, the kind that might’ve been a laugh if it weren’t so tired.

Kristen: “I just didn't feel like me out there" she says with a sigh, putting the blazer on properly to cover her shoulders as she feels a slight chill wash over her.