"Race you!" Laura whispered as she tossed her sweater to the ground and spun on her heel, fleeing the room while giggling the entire time.
Carmilla's eyes fluttered open as she fought a smile, looking over to the camera as if to say 'what a dork', before quickly standing and running from the room with a bit of her vampire speed to catch up.
She caught up to Laura on the second floor as she was ascending the stairs to the third. Laura was still giggling and Carmilla couldn't remember a time where her heart felt as full as it did now.
Carmilla reached out for Laura's hand, clasping it in her own as she kept pace so as to not drag the tiny human behind her. As the stairs up to the roof caught the vampire's eye, Carmilla dropped Laura's hand and picked up speed, practically kicking dust up from the hallway's rug with her boots. She was laughing now, little bursts of air escaping her lungs and surpassing her lips to leave little gasps and airy chuckles to form in the air around her.
Laura nearly toppled over at the sound of Carmilla's laughter, her goofy smile turning into a full out dazzling grin, practically cracking her face in two, with the glee she was currently feeling. It didn't even matter that she had lost the race, that when she made it up to the roof, Carmilla was looking out at the campus and the rapidly descending sunset, painting the sky a watercolor of pinks and oranges, even some purples hedging their way along the horizon.
"Wow." Laura breathed out as she caught her breath, looking out at the woods around them, the faint sound of chanting lunatics below.
Carmilla turned to face her girlfriend, her smile faint and crooked, but still there nonetheless. "It's quite the view." She agreed, her eyes raking over Laura's body as she took a tentative step closer. Their kiss from just moments ago still fresh in her mind, her body still vibrating with electric need and want.
Laura nodded, beaming up at Carmilla as she met her half way and wrapped her arms around the girl's neck, anchoring her closer, their breaths mingling against their lips.
Carmilla grew nervous, fighting to keep her nerves under check as she fought the urge to stutter her words as they nearly fell from her lips in a jumbled mumble. "The stars will be out any minute."
Laura smiled lightly, her forehead brushing against Carmilla's, as they stood ever closer to one another. "The only star I care about isn't in the sky."
Carmilla blushed, rolling her eyes as she bit her lip. "We'll all be stars some day, that's what some studies show anyways, that we're all just skin and bone, and that once burned our ashes turn into stardust."
"And do you believe that?" Laura asked, obviously curious due to her nature.
Carmilla shrugged, "I believe in the present, the now. I could read all the studies in the world, and believe me, I've come close, but nothing is going to be able to tell me exactly how tomorrow is going to come, and absolutely no book or article is going to be able to explain to me why exactly I feel so enamored by a dork such as you." Her voice sounded light and barely there as she released the words into the space between them. She was getting ahead of herself, or at least that was what she was taught, that caring was for humans, and that love was a fairy tale only meant to lure the humans that were lacking in wit, to steer the impossible away from the very obviously plausible.
It was Laura's turn to blush now, as she leaned up on her toes to press a kiss to Carmilla's mouth. She pulled away just far enough to whisper a sweet admittance against her lips. "I love you."
Carmilla's eyes opened, her brow raised in surprise as she allowed the words to wash over her. Never in her three hundred years, had she been told those three words. Not from someone that was foolish enough to mean them.
Laura's eyes searched Carmilla's darker ones, her smile slipping into a frown. "I meant what I said earlier Carm, I fell for you. I may be stupid, but I know that the feelings I have for you are real. I've never felt this way about anyone before, I've come close a few times, but never have I allowed myself this freedom."
Carmilla ran her hands down Laura's arms, resting them on her hips. "Then why now?"
Laura shrugged, "I didn't expect to like you. I didn't think that the bossy and stubborn roommate that nearly got herself killed because of me would end up being the only person that mattered. I didn't expect for you to care."
Carmilla stayed silent, mulling the girl's speech over in her head, looking up at Laura she smiled light heartedly. "Are you sure you can handle me being in love with you?"
Laura shrugged, "How hard could it be? All you ever really want is to be cuddled and to sleep. I can't see that being too hard." She teased.
Carmilla pulled Laura close, their chests meeting in the middle. "I love you too."
Laura grinned, pressing a kiss to the corner of Carmilla's lips, too happy to have a proper kiss. "Want to celebrate?" She asked nervously, biting her lip so as not to let out an awkward laugh.
Carmilla's brows bunched together, "Laura, I'm not so sure we should."
"We don't have to." Laura said quickly, her hands lowering to clasp around Carmilla's. "But if you're worried that you're going to screw it up, just know that you being there with me is all that's going to matter. Your lips and hands are all that I'm going to remember."
Carmilla smiled crookedly, pulling Laura close to press a kiss firmly to her mouth. She pulled back, resting their foreheads together, "You're sure?"
Laura nodded, pressing another kiss to the vampire's chin. "I've been wanting this since the barn."
Carmilla chuckled, "Well at least it hasn't been since the day you tied me up."
Laura smiled apologetically as Carmilla rolled her eyes.
There was a moment of silence before Carmilla leaned over and whispered, "Race you?"