By the time Carmilla returned back to the room from her usual nightly stroll and a few errands it was later than usual, almost 4 in the morning. She backed into the room slowly and locked the door behind her, then quietly opened the small fridge in the corner and placed the fresh vials of blood she'd collected from the science department (courtesy of LaFontaine) inside. Yawning, she turned around and rolled her eyes in amusment at the sight in front of her.

With a packet of chips open on one side of her keyboard and a mug of cocoa sitting on the other, Laura lay flopped over with her head lying on the desk in front of her dimly-glowing computer screen, snoring softly. Carmilla slipped off her boots and padded over to her sleeping girlfriend, paused to steal a couple of chips, and then slid one hand behind Laura's back and one under her legs, gently prising her from the chair. She carried the smaller girl over to her own bed and pulled the sheets aside, before lowering Laura down and tucking her in. Just as she pulled the blankets up, Laura's nose twitched suddenly and her eyes cracked open slightly.

"Shhh, go back to sleep, it's just me." Carmilla murmured quietly, sitting down on the bed.

"Carm?" Laura squinted up at the older girl through the dark. "Are you just getting to bed? What time is it?"

"I'm not sure but it's late, nearly early morning."

"Yeah I know, I was still awake because I was working on my-" Laura's eyes widened suddenly, "My lit paper! I haven't finished it and it's due today!"

"Laura you need to sleep, you've got to get up in only a few hours." Carmilla frowned.

"No, no, no I can't hand this in late, I'm already on the verge of failing!" Laura shook her head and made to get up, but Carmilla's hand on her arm stopped her.

"Cupcake, you're exhausted. How about I edit what you've done so far while you take a nap? Then I'll wake you in a half-hour."

"Oh Carm are you sure? I don't want to-"

"It's fine." Carmilla insisted with a soft smile. She pressed a kiss to Laura's forehead. "You get some rest."

The younger girl drifted back off to sleep almost immediately, and so Carmilla sat down in front of the computer and rested her elbows on the desk, studying the monitor in front of her. The essay needed to be 5000 words long, and she scrolled through the pages to see that Laura had already written just over 4000. The text Laura was studying lay next to her keyboard, and it happened to be Medea by Euripides, a play Carmilla had studied herself in the past and quite enjoyed.

She picked up the book and flicked through it, her eyes skimming over all the notes Laura had written.

'Only 1 more page,' She mused to herself, 'Shouldn't be too hard…"

A few hours later, Carmilla was woken by the sound of Laura's usual 7am alarm blaring. She groaned and buried her face in Laura's hair in an attempt to block out the sound, only to have Laura sit bolt upright next to her.

"Carm! You didn't wake me up!" The blonde girl exclaimed, panicking, "How could you forget to do that?!"

Carmilla scrunched her face up at Laura's raised voice and rolled over onto her back, pulling the pillow over her face. "I finished your paper." She muttered into the material.

"You what?"

Carmilla sighed and lifted a corner of the pillow up so Laura could hear her better. "I finished your essay. I've studied Medea before and you'd already written most of it so I just-"

She was cut off suddenly with an 'oof!' as Laura squealed and tackle-hugged her, and then wriggled up and stuck her head under the pillow as well. "Carmilla," she prised open one of Carmilla's eyes and grinned at her, "You are seriously the bestest. Thank you."

"Welcome." Carmilla grunted, determinedly snapping her eyes back shut.

"And this means I can sleep in for a little bit!" Laura settled onto Camilla's chest and sighed in content, snuggling her head under Carmilla's chin.

"Good." Carmilla murmured, already half-asleep, tightening her arms around the smaller girl and pulling her closer.

"Carm?"

"Hmm?"

"I love you."

Carmilla's lips pulled into a smile and she tilted her head forward, blindly pressing a kiss to the top of Laura's head.

"I love you too."