"Carm, just put the hat on."
Carmilla growled.
"Don't grumpy purr at me," Laura said. She was on her tiptoes trying to jam a santa hat over her girlfriend's dark hair. Carmilla tried to scratch her hand away, but Laura was annoyingly persistent. "I can hear him!"
Carmilla knocked the hat off Laura's head and snatched the other hat from her hand. She put it on just as Laura's father answered the door. Laura stood dumbfounded, hatless, as her father smiled at her.
"You know the rules, Laur," her dad said, wagging his finger at her in imitation of reprimand. "No hat, no hug."
Laura scrunched her eyebrows at Carmilla and stole the santa hat off her head. Carmilla rolled her eyes.
"After all that effort, cupcake?"
"Hi, Dad," Laura said, ignoring her girlfriend's snark. She smiled and hugged her father, who was in full holiday attire: he wore a bright green Christmas sweater and his own santa hat along with a silver Star of David necklace. He wore trousers that could have easily been re-stitched into a second ugly sweater.
"This explains so much..." Carmilla muttered to herself. Laura's face returned to its former scrunched state as she slapped the vampire's shoulder.
"And this can only be Betty," Laura's dad said, closing in for a hug.
Carmilla stiffened and backed away slightly. She started in on the long explanation of why Betty was no longer living with Laura. "Actually-"
"Betty transferred," Laura broke in. She gestured to Carmilla. "She came a little way into the semester."
Carmilla looked at Laura suspiciously, but kept quiet. She figured Laura had a valid reason for not wanting to tell the whole story about how she ended up with a vampire roommate and girlfriend.
Laura's father didn't seem troubled by the brevity of the tale. "Oh, well how wonderful that you're getting along so well already. Come in, come in! There are fresh cookies on the kitchen table. I hope you remember where it is, pumpkin! I'll grab all your luggage from the taxi." He held a hand up to stop Laura from fishing for cash in her purse. "No, don't worry about the fare. Consider it a late Hanukkah present, sweetheart."
Laura held the door open and the two went inside. There was a short hallway just past the small foyer. To the left of the foyer was a dining room. The table was set for three with shining silverware. Carmilla panicked briefly. She opened her mouth to tell Laura, but her peppy girlfriend cut her off.
"I told him you were allergic to silver," Laura said. "My mom had a nickel allergy, so he didn't ask questions."
"You mean his first thought wasn't 'So she's a vampire?'" Carmilla teased. "Feels like home already."
Laura narrowed her eyes at her roommate, but a small smile crept up the corners of her mouth. Carmilla smiled smugly and leaned toward Laura, but stopped when she heard the door open. She leaped backward and relaxed her elbows on the bannister of the staircase leading upstairs to the right of the foyer.
"Either you two...already ate all the cookies or you've...been admiring the new flooring in the...hallway," Laura's dad said between heavy breaths. He swung Laura's suitcase over the threshold. "Phew, you pack like your mother used to, Laur."
Laura smiled sarcastically at her father. "We can take our stuff upstairs. Carmilla can stay in my room."
Carmilla raised her eyebrow at Laura, but again remained silent. Carmilla had caught on to her girlfriend's ploy.
"I certainly hope so." Laura's dad said. The girls both looked at him. Laura's wide eyes betrayed a combination of surprise and fear while Carmilla simply raised an eyebrow questioningly and bit her lower lip. Laura's father continued. "What's that look for, Laur? I certainly don't plan on taking in a roommate anytime soon. You two've been rooming together for what, three months?"
"Almost four," Carmilla mumbled, glancing at Laura before examining the previously mentioned hallway floorboard.
"What was that, not Betty?" Laura's father said, taking a step forward.
"It's a nice floor," Carmilla said, straight-faced. Laura brought a hand over her mouth and stifled a snicker. "And I'm Carmilla." She reached out apprehensively to shake his hand.
"Carmilla. What a nice name." Laura's father nodded approvingly.
"Thanks," Carmilla said, her gaze drifting over to Laura. Her girlfriend was grinning goofily at the sight of her father officially meeting her girlfriend.
"Well, go on upstairs, and when you're all settled in we can tackle those cookies." Laura's dad nodded again, dismissing them. He made his way through the hallway into the kitchen.
"I got it," Carmilla said, grabbing Laura's suitcase. Laura clapped her hands together, smiled, and wrinkled her nose at Carmilla. She practically bounded up the stairs, Carmilla at her heels. Laura's father's room was directly to the right at the top of the stairs; Laura's own was at the end of the little hallway to the left. Laura gestured grandly to her door with both arms. Carmilla bowed her head and smirked at her roommate before entering the bedroom. She was puzzled by the presence of to bunk beds on the far side of the room, each against an opposite wall.
"Why..?" She trailed off, gesturing towards the beds.
Laura rolled her eyes. "My dad built them. I wanted them when I was little for sleepovers."
"Oh yeah?" Carmilla smiled at her teasingly as she stepped closer to her. "Pretty sure sleepovers are more fun with just one bed."
Laura shrugged her shoulders to her ears and tried to hold back a smile as she inspected the carpet. She glanced back up at her girlfriend. She was smiling softly, serenely, holding Laura's eyes with her intense gaze.
"Thank you," Carmilla said. "It's been a while since I got to spend Christmas with a real family."
"Really?" Laura looked at her with wide eyes.
"Centuries, acutally," Carmilla replied, glancing down at the carpet. With a deep breath she reached out and pulled Laura into a hug. If vampires could cry, Carmilla would have more than imagined the tears falling down her own cheeks. She exhaled loudly over the shorter girl's shoulder. Laura pulled away slightly to look at Carmilla, but her hands rested on the vampire's upper arms.
"It's okay," she said gently.
"Cupcake, don't-" Carmilla cut herself with a sigh, closing her eyes. Her shoulders shuddered as she exhaled. She felt Laura's grip on her arms tighten.
"Hey." Carmilla looked up at Laura, who kept talking. "...You know."
Carmilla choked back a dry sob as she smiled wide. She rested her forehead against Laura's.
"I love you, too."
"I can't believe you shook my dad's hand." Laura drew her forehead away and giggled, tracing her fingers down Carmilla's arms.
Carmilla shrugged as she took her girlfriend's hands. "I can do manners. May I please sit on the bed?"
"Sure, you can pick which one you want." Laura blinked at her, eyes wide and eyebrows raised.
"Hmm, funny." Carmilla's sneer turned into a smile as she pulled Laura towards her. She kissed her girlfriend softly, inhaling slowly. She paused as a thought came to her.
"You haven't told your dad," Carmilla stated. Laura bit her lip and looked at her guiltily.
"It never came up," she replied. "He didn't ask if I was dating anyone, so..."
"Not a problem, cutie," Carmilla said. "We'll keep this in here." She kissed Laura again. And a few more times. She had lost track of how long they had been standing and kissing when she heard the stairs creak.
"Your dad's coming," she whispered. Laura pursed her lips and glanced at the door. She grabbed Carmilla's hand and marched towards the door. She flung the door open just as her father appeared in the frame.
"Dad," Laura said, still grasping Carmilla's hand.
"Hey, sweetheart," her father replied, smiling. "I was just coming to getcha for dinner."
"Dad, I really should have told you before, but you never really asked, so I didn't really say anything, but-" Laura broke off, paused, and took a deep breath. "Carmilla's my girlfriend."
Her father stared at her quizzically. Carmilla lifted their linked hands, nodding.
"Good thing she's got her own nicknames for you already. No way is she stealing pumpkin," her dad stated seriously. Laura squeaked and let go of Carmilla's hand to tackle her dad in a hug. He addressed Carmilla in an intentionally loud whisper over his daughter's shoulder. "Carmilla, sweetheart, I don't know too many girls who call their friends 'cupcake.' A little bit of a tell, there," he said, holding up his thumb and forefinger to elaborate on just how sarcastically small the sign was.
Carmilla put her hands in her pockets and shrunk her shoulders down, looking anywhere except at the other two people in the hallway. She was taken by surprise when Laura grabbed her arm and kissed her on the cheek.
"Time for cookies," Laura smiled.
"Dinner first!" Her father called from partway down the stairs.
"Dessert after." Carmilla said, smiling mischievously. Laura wrinkled her nose as she smiled back.