"My gloves! Where are my gloves!" Little Lola Perry stopped dead in her tracks when she realized that her gloves weren't in their usual spot in her backpack. In fact, they weren't anywhere in her backpack! She ran back inside to ask her teacher, but he wasn't able to find them either. She ran back outside, eyes searching the snow-covered sidewalk for any hint of red or green against the white. Nothing.

But then, a blue and silver glove was suddenly shoved under her face.

"Huh?" She looked up to see...Susan!

"Wanna wear mine?" Susan asked, already in the process of removing her gloves to give to Perry.

"Oh, no! No! You should definitely keep them! So your hands don't get frostbite, or something!" Perry said, quickly waving her own hands.

"But what about yours?" Susan asked, tilting her head.

"I...I'll be fine. It's not too long of a trip home."

"Hmm...Well, my house is closer. Wanna hang out?" Susan extended a hand to Perry again. "We can even hold hands the whole way back, so I can try to help keep you warm until we get there!"

Perry was touched, eyes widening. Then a smile slowly spread across her face as she nodded her assent. Yeah, it sounds like fun!

Then suddenly, they were playing video games together, a pillow fort and blanket tent protecting them and their hot chocolate as they playfully passed one another notes and drawings between rounds of the game. One of the notes Perry gave Susan read, "It's nice to have a friend!" It was the start of a most beautiful friendship! And when winter turned into spring, they didn't hang out any less often than they did during the winter.

Next thing they knew, it was a warm, summer night and they were lying beneath the stars in a field behind Perry's yard. Maybe Susan's house was the first one they spent time at, but it didn't take long for them to start alternating. Each girl pointed to a star and pretended to draw a new constellation. Susan and Perry had both noted how funny it was to look at actual constellations and realize how little they resembled whatever they were supposed to be. For example, Ursa Major didn't look that much like a bear, so now the two were painting their own pictures in the sky.

"Perry?"

"Yeah, Susan?"

"I...I think you're my best friend."

"Really?"

"Really, really."

"Oh...Me too..." Perry turned on her side to smile at Susan. "I hope we can stay this close forever and ever!"

"Me too," Susan smiled back at Perry. "I don't wanna fly if you're still on the ground. And I'm only me when I'm with you!"

This was a mutual feeling. Even though Susan could drive Perry crazy half the time, the other half she was only trying to let the other girl know just how much she meant to her. They were just two smalltown kids living in a crazy world, trying to figure out what was or wasn't true. The one thing that remained constant through it all was each other. Neither girl ever hid tears, secrets, or deepest fears from the other.

"Nobody gets me like you do," Perry once said. "I'm only me when I'm with you!"

"And you know everything about me," Susan nodded. Both were in agreement, they couldn't imagine life without each other. When they were with anyone else, sometimes it felt hard to be themselves, but not when they were together!

ooo

Then they were 16 and suddenly, neither of them was the little girl they used to be. Perry was maturing and preparing for college and Susan had since started identifying as nonbinary. Lafontaine, their surname, was their new name. But, because this was a fairly recent development for them, they were still a little worried about it. They weren't worried about their identity, no, they were confident that they were nonbinary. The question was just how everyone else would take it. They weren't out to anyone yet. Not even Perry.

Lafontaine sat on the roof watching the sunset, trying to clear their mind and calm their heart. If there was one plus to growing up, it meant less of a curfew. Perry sat beside them. She recognized Lafontaine's change in style, shorter hair and more androgynous clothing, but she still didn't know Lafontaine was nonbinary. Instead of talking about that, because Lafontaine still wasn't quite ready to come out yet, they played 20 questions.

"I've been stressed out lately," Lafontaine admitted.

"Yeah, me too," Perry nodded. Even though her worries were of a different nature, they could still empathize with one another.

Then something gave Lafontaine the nerve to touch Perry's hand and say, "It's nice to have a friend."

And as more years came and went, Lafontaine did finally find the courage to tell the world who they truly were. There were some rough patches along the way, Perry was at first resistant of the idea of "Susan turning into Lafontaine", but Perry always came through in the end. Once she worked through her own struggle with accepting the new Lafontaine, she was able to more fully accept that Lafontaine.

"I'm sorry I was such a stubborn idiot," she said, genuinely apologetic.

"Well, it looks like you've come around, so I'm satisfied," Lafontaine patted Perry on the back. Since they were in college now, they were old enough to drink. They sat outside together, drinking ice-cold wine.

It's as cold as the shoulder Perry gave me in the street. Cat and mouse for a month or two or three, but now I wake up in the night and watch her breathe...Since they were back together again in a platonic sense, they were also starting to get together in a romantic sense. Of course, not every platonic friendship had to turn into something romantic, but that was what happened to Perry and Lafontaine. Lafontaine snuck into Perry's bed to cuddle and Perry was more than happy to let it happen. Things got much better after that.

They became very chaotic partners at Silas, rivaling their floormates, Carmilla and Laura. In the winter, Lafontaine jumped into an icy pool. (Something, something, cold Styrian winters. Something, something, Lafontaine was tough enough. Something, something, vampires were cold). And Perry, although she liked to tout herself as the sensible one of their group, jumped in too.

"I'm with you, even if it makes me blue!" she declared, teeth chattering as she landed in the water right beside Lafontaine.

"Dimwits," Carmilla growled from the lake's shore. Laura, beside her, giggled helplessly.

Although Perry felt a bit stupid later when she was shivering even after warming up by a fire with some hot coca, she refused to let the others know that she couldn't help but worry if she got hypothermia. She knew she didn't actually have it, though, she was just a worrywart.

But, honey, without all the exes, fights, and flaws we wouldn't be standing here so tall, she thought as she and Lafontaine got to brag about their daring escapade with the ice pond. Even if it was still a dumb thing to do, at least Perry could say she had proof she was tough enough to do it.

And even when times at Silas weren't always merry, Lafontaine and Perry's bond still stayed strong.

"You ok, Perr?" Lafontaine asked as, one night, Perry came back to their new home in the dean's old living quarters.

"I...Yeah...I just..." She struggled to find the words to explain how she kept losing time and losing memories. Was it the stress causing some form of amnesia? Was it the trauma of having witnessed the dead journalism students?

Lafontaine kissed her once because they knew it was a long night. Then they kissed her twice because it was going to be all right. Then, three times because both of them had waited their entire life for this. That was enough to draw a smile out of Perry and she kissed Lafontaine three times as well. Both of their minds ran along a similar track.

I like shiny things, but I'd marry you with paper rings, Lafontaine thought. I want your complications too, I want your dreary Mondays!

I hate accidents except when we went from friends to this! Perry thought. I want to drive away with you, so wrap your arms around me, lovely Laf!

Darling, you're the one I want! In paper rings...

Perry jokingly made Lafontaine an origami ring. It wasn't like any of them had anything better, being forced to hide out in the dean's old place.

In picture frames...

Lafontaine was quick to catch on, replacing the dean's old creepy stuff with photos of them and Perry to lighten up the mood.

In dirty dreams...

Perry would never tell, but if there were a few things she was glad she could still have without losing the memory of, it was her dreams of Lafontaine, the clean and the dirty. Oh, but she'd never tell anyone about either, they were her special secrets.

You're the one I want!

ooo

After what seemed like forever, and no time at all, Laf and Perry were getting married. Perry would never forget hearing the people sing as she carried Laf home once the wedding was over. Her veil almost touched the ground, a sparkling white, just like snow. In the beginning, Laf tried to offer her a gloved hand, although this time, they were pure white instead of blue and silver.

"Awww, babe, I'm still carrying you home whether you like it or not," Perry teased, kissing Laf's cheek. She knew why Laf had offered a hand. They wanted to walk home side by side, just like they used to from school, but Perry wanted to carry Laf just this once! It was their wedding after all, Perry had the perfect excuse to be a little more extra than normal.

"Awww, you called my bluff!" Laf pretended to pout. It only made them more adorable in Perry's eyes. They'd had each other's back every day since they were little, and even after all the drama, fights, and flaws, they were still standing together, proud and tall. If that wasn't a testament to the strength of their love, and their character, then neither of them knew what was.

Perry didn't stop until they were home.

"Consider it a thank-you for taking me home all those years ago," she said as she finally set Laf down.

"I thought we were even-steven years ago! When you invited me to your house to listen to the crickets sing and paint pictures in the sky?"

"Ehh, who's keeping score?" Perry shrugged playfully. They shared a laugh before heading upstairs to bed.

"Let's stay here the whole weekend," Laf sighed blissfully as they sank into the sheets.

"Sounds like a great idea to me," Perry chuckled.

As they slowly slipped into sleep, they both reflected back on all that had happened culminating in their wedding. They finally figured out why Perry was suffering random blackouts. As crazy as it sounded, she was possessed by a jealous, Sumerian goddess who was trying to bring about the apocalypse in hopes resurrecting her old, long-dead lover.

They were eventually able to free Perry from the goddess' grasp, and everything went back to normal (or at least, as normal as life could be at Silas) and Perry and Laf wound up having a very serious, very long heart-to-heart once Perry was back. There was a lot both of them needed to apologize for, and nearly losing Perry like that put a lot of things into perspective for both of them.

It was also the first time the question of marriage came up seriously. They had no intention of getting married that soon after something so intense and traumatic, but it was one of the things that came up in the conversation. Things didn't stay serious forever, though.

"I know that I'm a handful, Perry, and I know I never think before I jump," Laf confessed.

"And I know that I went psycho on the phone, screaming and panicking at you because I never leave well enough alone," Perry wasn't about to let Laf be the only one to apologize here and think that they had to bear all the guilt and burden alone.

"But one of these things is not like the others. I am a rainbow with all of the colors, and baby doll, when it comes to a lover, I promise that you'll never find another like me!" Laf declared, giving Perry their best, goofiest smile. It threw Perry for a loop for a second, but then she laughed and rolled her eyes. Classic, crazy Laf! Life would never be boring with them around!

"And when we had that fight out in the rain, you ran after me and called my name," Perry remembered fondly.

"I never wanna see you walk away," Laf agreed. It would be forever winter if Perry left, so Laf would be her summer sun forever. Now that Perry was back, Laf felt as though the life, light, and laughter had returned to the world again as well.

It was just as they said back when they were kids. They didn't want to live without one another. Each of them was only up when the other wasn't down. They were a team, and there was no "I" in team. And even though they were certainly allowed to be their own, unique, individual selves, they were still meant to be together.

Laf fell asleep first, but Perry wasn't far behind. Her very last thought before sleep took her to join Laf in the dreamworld was, "It's nice to have a friend..."

AN: Random trivia thing, and slight shameless self-promo, but chapter seven of this fic could also fit these guys very well. So I'm not saying Laferry fans have to read chapter seven of this fic, but I AM saying the songs I used in chapter seven definitely work for them!