Fandom: Carmilla: The Series
Rating: K
Genre: Friendship
Words: 1,160
Summary: They were officially bros. And, sometimes, you just needed to hear something from one.
AN: Okay, so. Danny and Kirsch. I'm...conflicted on them. Not as characters; I love them individually. But together. I love them as friends, they make absolutely amazing bros, but if Danny turned out to be bi or pan and the two of them ended up together, that would be great. IF they can avoid the whole "Pair the Spares" trope, since that's been done way too often and both of them deserve much better then that, you know? AND if they can avoid changing the characters for the worse. Danny doesn't "need to be tamed" or anything. Kirsch could lose a few of the stereotypical frat boy mannerism, but he shouldn't have to change too much and he should be able to keep his sensitive side instead of being forced to "man up" so he's "deserving" of Danny. If the relationship is done well, when the two could become a couple and I would be happy. If done badly, I will protest it with every fiber of my being, because the characters-and their story-deserve so much more.
In short, I do and don't ship them. I'll write for both, and come what may with those two,I'll be happy. This fic is a friendly one, though it was almost romantic. *Shrugs* It changed. Hope you all enjoy!
Disclaimer: I do not own Carmilla: The Series. U by Kotex does.
The ceremony was short, thankfully. Since she was only becoming an honorary Zeta, they had decided to leave out all the normal pomp, circumstances, and traditions (thank goddess, for if they had tried to make her eat the traditional pound of salted anchovies, Danny would have just left, ceremony or no. There were a lot of things a Summer girl would do, but that wasn't one of them), instead going for a more casual tone.
The head Zeta-a twenty-something frat boy two years past his graduation date-gave a 'quick' speech honoring the history of the Zetas and, surprisingly, the Summer Society, talking about both foundings and the rivalry that had grown between them since then. He talked about broness and sisterhood and how, sometimes, chicks could be the best bros a bro could have.
It was only after he was done ranting half an hour later that Danny was called forward, every breath in the hall held as she crossed the makeshift ocean-themed threshold the Zetas had set up just below the stage(Kirsch had told her, normally, they made the new pledges run naked through the salt-water pond about ten miles away. But, again, they were going casual).
Kirsch then handed her her new trident, yelled something that sounded suspiciously like "broness or death," and the silence broke as the "We Beat the Bloodsuckers While Stopping A Totally Uncool Not-Goat Based Sacrifice" party began.
It was a celebration for her, for the peace between the societies, for the very fact that they were alive. But, somehow, Danny found herself at the edge of the woods that surrounded Silas, watching the party from a distance instead of joining in.
She knew why, knew she was avoiding the small journalism major and the dark haired vamp that had been by her side since the evacuation last week, but that didn't mean she had to acknowledge it.
She was glad Laura, her friend, was happy and with someone she loved. She was glad Carmilla was alive; she believed she might even be able to become friends with the vamp, given the right conditions. But that didn't mean she had to be happy that the girl she had crushed on for so long had chosen another, even if she had accepted it.
"Hey, Summer Bro, wha-"
It took Danny a moment to realize that the person she had just tackled into the ground was not, in fact, a random vamp, but instead a panicked looking Kirsch. It took her another to realize that she should probably take her hand off his windpipe and help him up, her free hand slapping his back to help him breathe once he was vertical.
"Dude, so not cool," Kirsch finally wheezed, glaring daggers at her as he rubbed his throat. "I thought we were bros now."
"You surprised me," Danny replied with a shrug, returning to her previous post, leaning against the tree so she could continue to watch the party. "You should know not to sneak up on me, idiot, especially not with how things are right now."
"You mean with some of Carmilla's siblings still MIA, the Dean apparently still trying to rise up from that hole we pushed her into like a zombie, and the fact that the whole world is trying to fall on our toes?" Kirsch just shrugged at the look Danny gave him, rubbing the back of his head. "I pay more attention than it seems like I do, Summer Bro. At least, now I am." He joined her by the tree, watching the party, occasionally moving his eyes to check the world around them.
"I feel like we should be hunting them down," Danny confessed to fill the silence. "Carmilla is still recovering, I know that, but once she is she could find their scent and lead us right to them. We could take them out, one by one, before the Dean gets back and reorganizes them. It'll be that much easier to end this if we did."
"We will," Kirsch promised, putting his hand on Danny's shoulder, his thumb gently rubbing the knot that had formed there. "From what Per was saying, Carmy just needs a few more days to get her full strength back, and then we'll get to pull a Buffy and hunt down those bloodsuckers, one excluded of course."
They let the quiet settle between them, Danny slowly forcing herself to relax as Kirsch continued to rub the knot from her shoulder. He was a good guy, when you got past that primitive, neanderthalish frat boy brain of his. A good ally to have in a fight, if not the best conversationalist. Someone she could trust, at least as far as she could throw him.
"There'll be other Lauras, you know. One day."
"How-"
"Finally decided to start using my think pan, Summer Bro," Kirsch cut her off, tapping his forehead. "Know I'm not the brightest bulb in the toolshed, least when it comes to books and stuff, but for the most part I'm pretty good with people, you know? Living people, that is," he admitted, face crunching up as, just for a moment, he let himself think about Will. "You're worried about the deadly undead rising up from the dead again, but I saw how you were lookin earlier. There'll be others, I just know it."
"When did you develop some gray matter," Danny teased, taking his indignant response to wipe away the slight moisture that had appeared under her eyes. An allergic reaction to something the Alchemy club was doing, she was sure, but she still didn't want him of all people to see.
She knew there would be others, had told herself that a hundred times, but hearing it from someone else, even Kirsch, helped. Even if only a little bit.
Reaching out to grab Kirsch by the collar of his shirt mid-rant, Danny pulled him close so she could place a quick kiss on his cheek, pushing him away and laughing a second later at the shocked look on his face. Turning so she was facing the other way, Danny glanced over her shoulder and smirked, sliding her jacket off and hanging it on a limb of the tree besides them.
"If this…'relationship' that we have going here is going to work," Danny teased, "first, you're going to have to get a thicker skin. If words can get to you, a set of fangs will too, and I can't always be around to keep you alive." She stuck her tongue out at his indignant huff, winking playfully when he turned his pouty puppy eyes on her. "Second…you need to keep up when we run."
With that she was gone, racing through the trees and across the quad, back to the bonfire being further built up in her honor before Kirsch could even begin to process what had just happened.
All he could do was race after her and hope he could keep up.