Author's Note: You ever wonder how many tropes you can fit into one fic?
Disclaimer: This may come as a surprise to you, but after all this time I still don't own Carmilla.
"I'm just saying, there are plenty of other places you could go for vacation. Why not something relaxing by a beach – if you can avoid the diphtheria. And sharks. I don't think they make shark spray but I will raise a lot of hoopla until they do-"
"Dad," Laura huffed, placing a stack of clothes in her suitcase. "I appreciate the concern, but you know more than anyone how much I need to get away and let loose for a bit. Las Vegas seems like the perfect place for that."
"The 'letting loose' is exactly what I'm worried about. I've seen the TV ads. What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas? This kind of mentality where you magically don't have to own up to the consequences of your actions is exactly what is ruining today's youth," Laura's dad ranted. Laura sighed, turning her attention away from her suitcase on the couch to grab he father's arms and look at him straight in the eye.
"Dad, I am an adult. I can take care of myself. Promise," Laura assured him, and then returned to her packing.
"I know. I know you are. I'm still coping with the fact that you don't need your dear old dad to protect you from the dangers of the world anymore," he mumbled, looking dejected.
"I'll always need you, dad. Don't worry," Laura promised. "You'll always be there to pick me up when I fall. You just need to give me a chance to walk without stumbling first."
"…I may have held you up for the first month or so after you started walking when you were a toddler."
"Dad," Laura rolled her eyes.
"Can you blame me? It's scary when you fall. I'm always worried it won't be something you can get up from again. Like after that ex-girlfriend you had back in college-" he started, but Laura whipped around with a glare.
"Dad!" Laura snapped. "Do you always have to bring that up?"
Laura softened when she saw her dad's disposition. He seemed so worried.
"Just be careful," he requested softly.
"I'm not planning to get into any relationship drama in Las Vegas. Just some fun times with friends to forget about work. That's all," Laura swore.
"And you're still sure you want to do Las Vegas? I've read on the internet about this new trend called a 'staycation'. Very hip with the kids," Laura's dad continued.
"Dad…" Laura groaned.
"Okay, okay. Just checking," he relented, watching Laura finally zip up her over-stuffed suitcase. "Have fun, sweetie."
Laura looked up at him, smiling.
"Love you, dad," Laura enveloped him in a big hug.
"Love you, too," he returned the hug, but quickly stood back. "And go easy on the gambling."
Laura's eyes rolled once again, but she chuckled.
"Yes, dad," Laura agreed, grabbing her suitcase.
"And stick close to LaFontaine and Perry," he ordered.
"Sure thing."
"And watch out for bears. And sharks. I'll get working on that shark spray."
"I know you will, dad."
Despite the overzealous worrying and doting of Laura's father, Laura found herself with her two best friends from college amongst the hustle and bustle of tourist pandemonium and neon lights. Talk about sensory overload.
"I just think it's strange – which, don't get me wrong, I'm cool with strange – but Britney Spears is such a big global name and she's stuck here unlike other recording artists. She could be touring the world," LaFontaine, one of Laura's friends, made conversation as they made their way down the street.
"Excuse me. Queen Britney has it all figured out, if you ask me. She's a single mom. This way she can stay in one place with her kids and still get to perform for a large audience and make money on the regular. She's already done the tour thing," Laura argued. "I wish I had my career figured out like that."
"Oh, Laura, stop thinking about work. We took you here to this… filthy city to help you get your mind off of it," Perry, Laura's other friend, chimed in.
"I'm sorry. It's just – I'm trying to make a difference in the world and I feel like I'm going to forever be stuck at the bottom of the ladder at this rate. I'd be happy if they gave me a responsibility bigger than making photocopies," Laura pouted, the buzz of Las Vegas suddenly dulled.
"Well, that's what you get for getting into journalism," LaF shrugged. Perry shot them an annoyed glance.
"LaFontaine!" she chided.
"No, LaF's right. Did I even make the right choice going into this?" Laura sighed. LaFontaine and Perry looked at each other in concern.
"Uh… hey, look! A night club! Let's get this trip started right," LaF exclaimed, dragging the both of them towards the flashy building.
"Oh, dear, do you really think that's wise to go all out right off the bat?" Perry questioned.
"A shot or ten sounds great right now," Laura groaned. "Just let me forget about my real life for a sec."
"That's why we're here!" LaF agreed as they made it into the club.
"Just don't get alcohol poisoning. Your dad would never forgive us," Perry huffed just as someone carrying a tray of shots stopped in front of them.
"Complimentary shot? We're being sponsored by Smirnoff tonight," the usher said.
"Oh hell yeah," LaF grinned, downing a shot immediately.
"LaFontaine! We are in a strange establishment in a place we don't know and you just took a shot someone handed to you without batting an eye!" Perry scolded.
"Relax, Perr. It's sponsored," LaF took another shot off the tray and handed it to Laura. "Down the hatch."
"I think I'm owed a little irresponsibility," Laura stated, throwing the shot back and feeling it burn on the way down.
Oh crap.
Everything hurt.
Laura figured she had to have been in some sort of accident. She must have been hit by a truck. She was about to wake up in a hospital bed and a doctor was going to politely tell her that she had been in a coma for three years. That's the only explanation for how she was feeling and that she had no memory of the past… whenever.
She had been partying with LaF and Perry. That much she knew. Damn, she must have had more than she thought. At least she felt safe in bed. Thank god for Perry. She probably had to cart both Laura and LaF back to their hotel room. Laura should get her a gift basket of some sort.
With a groan, Laura finally opened her eyes and-
It wasn't her hotel room. It wasn't a hospital room, either. Oh god, was she dead? If she was, the afterlife had very fancy upholstery. Modern chic.
"Oh, crap," Laura muttered out loud this time. Not much worse than waking up after a crazy night and having no idea where you are.
"Well, good morning to you too," came a raspy voice next to her. Laura froze.
Oh crap oh crap oh crap
She had slept with someone?
Laura suddenly became very aware of the bed sheets against her bare skin. Yep, definitely naked.
Bracing herself, Laura slowly turned her head to face the person she had a one-night-stand with and certainly didn't remember.
Except she did.
"No," Laura gasped, her eyes widening as they rested upon the face of the person lying in the bed next to her.
"I remember you being much more chipper in the mornings, Cupcake. I suppose that's what hangovers will do to you," the woman smirked.
Laura's shock was suddenly replaced with white hot anger flooding her chest. In several frantic movements, Laura bunched up the covers around herself and leaped out of the bed.
"You. What the hell are you doing here?!" Laura growled.
"I have a name, you know. Or did you forget?"
Laura gritted her teeth. It was a name she'd never forget.
"Unfortunately I do remember, Carmilla," Laura practically spat her name, "now answer my question."
Carmilla rolled her head to the side, seeming to regard Laura closely.
"I'm just as surprised as you are, Sundance," Carmilla stated. Laura's nostrils flared.
"A likely story. Oh, this is just- just typical! What, you happened to see me stumbling around last night and decided to take advantage?" Laura hissed, backing away. Carmilla seemed to break out of her air of nonchalance for a moment, looking stunned, and her eyes fixed to a glare.
"You really think that's what happened here?" Carmilla questioned, her voice steady but firm. Laura said nothing, but tightening the covers around her instead. Carmilla noticed the movement, sighed, and pushed herself out of the bed as well. "Believe what you want. But I don't have any memory of last night, so I guess neither of us can say. I'm going to shower. If you wish to leave and pretend this never happened, feel free. But if you wish to stay and talk this out like adults, make yourself comfortable. There's food in the kitchen."
Carmilla sauntered away into the en suite, closing the door behind her. Laura tried not to dwell on the shape of Carmilla's body before it disappeared from view.
Ugh, she was... just as infuriating as Laura remembered.
Slowly, Laura started roaming around the room and picking up her clothes. Which were… everywhere. Her underwear was draped over the headboard, embarrassingly.
God, how could this have happened? It made no sense. She couldn't have wanted this, right? Not even in the deepest, drunken recesses of her mind. Carmilla was the worst person to possibly ever walk the planet, from what Laura could remember. She couldn't even recall why she had ever dated her in the first place. She was rude, uncaring, apathetic, messy-
Carmilla was a huge mistake in her life. As was the one night stand she apparently just had. She had to get out of there.
Laura quickly put on the last of her clothes and scrambled around for her purse, which she found by the door. As well as a discarded shirt and bra that must have been Carmilla's. Laura groaned to herself, trying not to imagine how the events of the night before transpired.
"Oh, dammit," Laura sighed, looking at her dying phone. So many missed calls. LaF and Perry must have been beside themselves.
Just as she was heading out the door, never to return and probably shower herself in bleach, her phone buzzed with another phone call.
"Hello?" Laura asked into the receiver.
"Laura? Laura! Perr, she answered! Laura, are you alright? Are you kidnapped? Do we need to send in the cavalry? Say 'can you pick up milk' if you're in trouble. Damn, I knew I should've microchipped you-" LaFontaine rambled on the other end.
"LaF, relax. I'm fine. Sort of. No, I'm fine. Just… recovering from some bad decisions," Laura groaned.
"Oh thank god. We lost track of you last night and man, your dad would've killed us. We would've been dead, Laura," LaF huffed. There was a bit of a sound of a scuffle on the other line.
"Give me that, let me talk to her. Hello? Laura, sweetie, where are you? What happened last night?" Perry's voice came through. As much as Laura appreciated the concern, the panicked worrying of her friends was just making her head pound more.
"It's a long story. You're not going to believe where I ended up. But I couldn't tell you what happened last night. This is worse than The Hangover," Laura mumbled. As she reached for the door handle, she felt the tap of metal against metal.
Huh.
"Well, as long as you're safe. Do you need us to pick you up?" Perry asked, but Laura barely heard her.
Laura had lifted up her hand and was starring in a mix of horror and bewilderment at the wedding band on her left hand.
"I'm… I'm going to have to call you back," Laura gasped.
"What? Laura, what's wro-"
Beep
Laura fell back against the door, staring wide-eyed at the ring.
It couldn't be real. Why the hell would that be there? It had to be a prank. Or a nightmare. Or… or…
"Carmilla!"
Laura stormed back into the bedroom in time to hear the water turn off. She poised her fist, ready to give the en suite door an aggressive knock, but it was pulled open before she could. Carmilla stood on the other side, still in the process of securing her towel around her.
"Well, well. Look who stayed," Carmilla commented, but Laura brushed it off and stuck her hand right in Carmilla's face.
"What the hell is this?" Laura demanded.
"Why, looks like your hand to me, creampuff. But I'm sure I'm already pretty acquainted with that, especially after last night. If only I could remember," Carmilla teased, and Laura rolled her eyes.
"Shush," Laura chided, raising her right hand to point at her left ring finger, "I mean this."
Carmilla seemed to study it for a moment.
"Nice ring," was all Carmilla offered as comment. Laura almost breathed a sigh of relief. She looked at Carmilla's left hand and saw nothing on her fingers.
"Thank god. I don't know where this came from, then. Maybe it's nothing to worry about. God, I thought for a moment that we-"
"Oh, we did," Carmilla cut Laura off. Laura's brow furrowed, and panic started to shoot into her heartrate again.
"Wait, but I thought you said you didn't remember," Laura pointed out.
"I don't," Carmilla replied, disappearing on one side of the door only to return with a matching wedding band on her finger. She studied it with a sort of whimsical expression of her face. "But I found this when I went to take my shower. Figured it wouldn't do any good if it washed down the drain so I took it off as a precaution. Seeing your ring confirmed my suspicions."
The full panic set in on Laura then. It was as if she was suddenly very small in a very large world – more than usual – and everything blurred around her like the very environment was joining in her lamentation.
"No. Oh, no. No, no, no, no. No," Laura stammered, backing away from Carmilla. Carmilla's relaxed expression suddenly warped into something resembling concern.
"Laura, relax," Carmilla sighed.
"Relax? Relax? We have matching rings! After a blackout night in Vegas! This is like a subplot in every sitcom ever! Oh my god, this is some cruel trick played by the universe," Laura sat back down on the bed, starring ahead of her in terror as the cogs in her brain turned. "Maybe it's not what we think. Maybe you made us mug a lovely old married couple and we stole their rings."
"Really?" Carmilla's eyebrow raised incredulously. "Okay, look, there's only one way to find out for sure."
Carmilla beckoned Laura to follow her back into the living room. Laura, legs shaky, somehow managed to get herself to move after Carmilla, who was looking around the room quizzically.
"Ah," Carmilla said, heading toward kitchen. She stops at the counter, hand resting on a piece of paper on top of the marble surface. "I believe this will answer your question."
Laura swallowed hard, moving toward the paper like she was pushing through Jello. She finally looked over the paper and the fancy writing that adorned it.
"Oh god… joined in lawful wedlock… Laura Hollis… and Carmilla Karnstein… Holy Hufflepuff…" Laura gaped, barely believing the words in front of her. "Is this really…?"
"It's an unofficial one, but yeah. I believe you get the real one later. Regardless, this still confirms it. Your signature is even here," Carmilla pointed out. "Still think last night's events were non-consensual?"
"I can't believe it… why would I…" Laura trailed off, her eyes getting hazy. "I need to puke."
Laura didn't know if it was from the panic she was feeling or the hangover, but she soon found herself fleeing to the en suite again to deposit whatever stomach contents she had.
Carmilla? She was married to Carmilla? It is the worst possible thing that could have happened. She just wanted to enjoy some time off. Now she was married. To a she-devil.
Maybe it wasn't a big deal. There was always something funny about the constitution of marriage – not that Laura was ever against it, but this just proved it could really be just a scribble on a piece of paper.
Just a piece of paper.
That affected her entire legal life.
Laura stood up and splashed water over her face, rinsing her mouth out before storming back into the living room.
"You okay?" Came Carmilla's voice, surprisingly soft.
"No," Laura grumbled, heading back to her purse and digging into it. She felt a light bump on her arm.
"Here, I got you a water. Might help," Carmilla offered, holding the bottle against Laura's arm. Laura looked from the bottle to Carmilla and back slowly, cautiously and pondering before taking the bottle.
"Thanks," Laura muttered, unscrewing the top and taking a few big gulps to attempt to wash the rotten taste in her mouth.
Well that was… kind of sweet. Out of character, though. Suspicious.
Laura went back to getting her phone, unlocking it only to find the screen black besides a flashing battery symbol.
"Ugh. Can I borrow your phone?" Laura groaned.
"Well, seems only right you get my number now that you're my wife," Carmilla smirked, heading to her own purse.
"Do not call me that, and that's not what this is about," Laura huffed. Carmilla sighed, handing her phone over.
"Then what do you need it for?" Carmilla asked as Laura snatched the phone away, beginning to rigorously type on it.
"Googling how to get a divorce," Laura muttered. Carmilla clicked her tongue.
"My, my. So soon? You don't want to try counselling first?" Carmilla teased.
"Hilarious," Laura growled. "How are you so calm about this? How can you not be freaking out? This is a huge deal!"
Carmilla looked Laura over and shrugged.
"I could do worse," she stated plainly. Laura paused, and tried to fight the blush starting to form.
"Don't… don't do that," Laura stammered, getting back to her googling.
"Do what?" Carmilla questioned.
"The flirting. Just… no," Laura muttered. Carmilla tilted her head to the side, something mournful in her eyes.
"As you wish, Cupcake," Carmilla complied, but Laura shot her a glare.
"Don't do that either. The nicknames. Don't talk to me as if we were still dating. We're not. This marriage isn't even real. It's just a legal roadblock we have to deal with and then we can go back to pretending each other doesn't exist. I only need to tolerate you until then and I'd rather you not act like the natural disaster of us never happened," Laura snapped.
Carmilla was stone-faced, but she nodded slowly and started to move away, heading back to the bedroom.
"Alright, Laura," Carmilla breathed out in a sigh, disappearing through the doorway. Laura shook off the angry pit in her stomach and turned her attention back to the phone.
"Turns out, divorce involves a lot of paperwork. But we can make it as smooth as possible if we both agree we're incompatible and don't argue we own anything of the other's. Which sounds fair to me. So, I hope you don't fight me on this," Laura read out.
"If you want a divorce, you got a divorce," Carmilla's voice floated from the bedroom. She emerged, wearing sweatpants and a tank top instead of a towel, and propped herself up on the couch with a book.
Laura observed her, the anger still rumbling somewhere deep in her gut, as well as the bit of sadness she was trying to ignore.
"Great. Glad that's settled."
"You're married?!" LaF gaped.
"To… Carmilla?" Perry chimed in.
"The Carmilla. The same one from college," LaF interrogated.
"Yes, yes. That one," Laura sighed.
"How in the world could this have happened? Why is she even here?" Perry questioned.
"She told me she moved here after college. I just happened to run into her last night, I guess. And something went horribly, horribly wrong," Laura explained, feeling exhausted. "Honestly, I'm still waiting to wake up from this bad dream."
"Bad dream? This isn't a bad dream. This is like you got sucked into a hellscape run by demons aiming to torture you by way of making you live through the worst parts of your life over and over," LaF proclaimed.
"Now, dear, that seems a little dramatic-" Perry started.
"Dramatic? Do you not remember Laura after that relationship? She was an absolute wreck. A shell of herself. She barely earned her credits that year," LaF argued.
"Thanks for that reminder," Laura muttered.
"Sorry, it's just, from what you told us, she was awful to you and you were lucky to have gotten out while you could," LaF clarified. "Which is why you need to get out of this."
"You know, it's funny, I don't remember Carmilla being that particularly awful when you two were together. A little brash, but…" Perry trailed off.
"Perry, she left dishes out so long they would practically sentient mushrooms," Laura explained. Perry blinked a couple of times, processing.
"Oh, well then, she certainly wasn't good for you at all," Perry nodded. "Have you told your father yet?"
"Oh god, no. I just came straight to our hotel room from her place to freak out to you before I handle that. He's going to kill me," Laura groaned.
"Hey, I've met your dad. He's… protective, but he's pretty chill. Maybe he'll be fine," LaF offered hopefully.
"You're married?! To Carmilla?!"
"That seems to be a common reaction," Laura sighed. "Yes."
There was a long silence over the phone with Laura's father. For a moment, Laura worried that he had just dropped from the shock.
"…Sweetie… sweetheart… this is the exact opposite of not getting into any relationship drama," her dad huffed.
"I know, I know. Trust me. But I'm handling it," Laura assured him.
"Oh yeah, because you handled Las Vegas so well," he snapped. "This is Carmilla. We just talked about this. That horrible girl who destroyed you-"
"She did not… destroy me. I'm perfectly fine. And not destroyed. And I'm handling this," Laura declared. There was a long sigh on the other end of the line.
"What are you going to do?" he asked.
"We're going to get together later and sort through all the paperwork, and set a court appearance, and then hopefully this will be all over and done with sooner rather than later. Luckily, Carmilla seems pretty compliant," Laura explained. There was another bit of silence over the phone.
"Okay, just be careful. I don't know if I trust her. Watch out for any mind games," her dad warned. Laura let out a bit of a laugh to appease him.
"I know I already told you this before and it didn't work out too well, but this time for real: don't worry."
"I'm never drinking again," Laura groaned, leaning back into Carmilla's couch in front of the laptop. "Which is ironic, because I could really use a drink right now."
"Mhm," Carmilla hummed, her face practically pushed into the laptop screen as she scrolled through the endless downloadable PDFs for divorce in the state of Nevada. Technology.
Laura blew out a frustrated huff. Not that she wanted to talk to Carmilla, but she had basically ignored Laura's entire presence since she had come back in the evening to sort out this marriage thing ASAP. Which, whatever. Laura didn't care.
Although it was a little awkward sitting there in silence.
"I mean, this was supposed to be my vacation. And now I'm spending my second day here with you. Filing for divorce," Laura continued.
"Shame," Carmilla stated plainly. Laura's face scrunched up.
"You could show at least a little enthusiasm, here. It's not every day you get to have a divorce. Yay, divorce," Laura scoffed.
"I'm thrilled. Truly," Carmilla sighed. Laura regarded her closely.
"You know, I'm still confused about why none of this has seemed to bother you very much. Nice to know your level of apathy hasn't changed, but I expected at least some sort of emotion. We dated for two years in college. And then, well…" Laura trailed off, and Carmilla finally tore her eyes away from the screen to look at her. "We spent senior year apart and then we graduated. We haven't seen each other for four years."
They locked eyes for a moment, and then Carmilla turned her attention back to the computer.
"Would you have wanted to see me?" Carmilla asked. Laura was caught off guard by the question.
"I… I don't know. Maybe," Laura answered honestly. Carmilla stayed silent, so Laura continued, "At the very least, maybe to tell you how awful you are."
"Well, I'm here now."
"Great, you're awful."
"Great."
Silence fell over the room once again. It was finally broken by the sound of the printer roaring to life, and Carmilla got up to fetch the papers.
"So you have no feelings about all this… at all. What happened to talking it out like adults?" Laura interrogated. She failed to mention the fact that she had every intention of leaving and never looking back that morning.
"You made your feelings pretty clear after you found out we were married," Carmilla stated, taking the stack of papers. "If you must know mine: sometimes life throws you a curveball. Sometimes it's better just to let yourself get hit and walk to first than to swing and miss and get a strike."
Laura's brow furrowed.
"Well, sorry this was such a burden on you and your baseball metaphors. This is probably all your fault anyway," Laura declared. Carmilla turned back toward the couch.
"How so?" Carmilla questioned.
"I'm just saying, you weren't exactly jumping at the idea of divorce. I agree that… perhaps I may have drunkenly consented to all this, but I'm not convinced that you didn't do all the convincing with your… drunken mind games," Laura accused.
"Mind games?" Carmilla scoffed.
"It just makes the most sense. It's not like I would have ever suggested this," Laura gestured between the two of them. Carmilla stared at Laura for a few beats, and then slowly made her way back to the couch.
"I suppose you're right," Carmilla whispered, sitting down and looking through the papers. Laura blinked.
"Yeah. That's right. Your fault. Glad you agree," Laura crossed her arms, sinking into the couch.
She expected a bit more of an argument. So far, all she had gotten from Carmilla was complete compliance. It had to be a trick. It was those mind games. Had to be.
Carmilla released a grunt that captured Laura's attention. Her eyes were fixed on the bottom of one of the papers, her brow scrunched in annoyance.
"Apparently we need a witness who is a resident of Nevada," Carmilla revealed. Laura groaned, her head hitting the back of the couch.
"Dammit. I don't know anybody who lives here. Maybe we'll have to file this through New York, but I don't know if that'll involve more hoops. Ugh," Laura mumbled.
"You're fine. I can witness you, since I'm not fighting the divorce or anything," Carmilla assured her.
"Well, that's nice of you. Again," Laura shrugged.
Mind games.
"The problem is who I'm going to have witness me," Carmilla continued.
"Just get one of your friends to sign it. Neighbours. Someone," Laura suggested. Carmilla stayed silent and Laura's eyes widened. "You're telling me you've been living here for three years and you haven't made a single friend?"
"I keep to myself," Carmilla muttered. "Anyone I've interacted with never exactly crossed into anything resembling friendship."
"Ah," Laura nodded slowly, clearing her throat. "So you could just ask someone random, right? It's not like they really check these things."
"You really want to risk this being rejected because some random stranger didn't know my last name if they happened to get asked by the state? It's unlikely, but considering how desperate you are to get out of this union…" Carmilla argued.
"Yeah. No. I get it. Taking it seriously," Laura nodded. "So then, who…?"
"My Mother… she owns this building. Make no mistake, I pay the rent, but she owns property here so I believe it counts," Carmilla muttered, her jaw tight. Laura looked her over carefully.
"I'm guessing your relationship with your Mother isn't much better than it was in college," Laura concluded. Carmilla's hands balled into fists on her knees and Laura sighed. She hated that she still cared, at least a little. "You… don't have to…"
"It's fine," Carmilla said. "She'll just have to deal. I'll phone her and fax the form or something equally as ancient in technology. Then you'll be a step closer to being free."
"If you're sure," Laura mumbled. It was hard to keep that fire up when Carmilla kept being so… nice. And understanding.
Maybe Laura was being the unreasonable one.
"Hey, like you said, probably my fault, right? Least I can do is talk to Her Infernal Majesty," Carmilla shrugged.
A small chuckle escaped from Laura before she could stop it. Something felt so familiar in the sound of Carmilla's biting snark. It's not something Laura ever figured she would have missed.
"Um… thanks for being so good about all this," Laura relented. Anger was exhausting anyway, and she already had such an exhausting day. She'd be mad again tomorrow.
"No problem," Carmilla spread the papers over the coffee table and clicked her pen. "We can sign what we can, then you can go enjoy the rest of your vacation. I'll handle the phone call with my Mother and getting her to witness."
"Good luck with that phone call. It… might be hard to explain," Laura said.
"I imagine you know all about that. I take it you told your father? If memory serves me, he probably wouldn't take this very well," Carmilla pondered.
"Yeah. About that. There's a good chance he might've ordered a hit on you, so, lock your doors," Laura warned. Carmilla looked up at her with a soft smile.
"Well, nice to hear you care."
"So who do you think you were married by? An Elvis impersonator?" LaF questioned as they all walked down the main strip the next day.
"Oh god, I hope not," Laura groaned.
"Why not? Elvis is cool!" LaF exclaimed, and their eyes widened. "What if it was the real Elvis?"
"For the last time, honey, Elvis is not alive. I can't believe you'd buy into that conspiracy theory when you're all about science-y… things," Perry huffed.
"That's exactly why I buy into it. Nobody can convince me there isn't some cloning going on. I bet the Elvis of the next generation is being grown in a tube right now," LaF theorized. Perry rolled her eyes, but LaF turned to Laura. "Who did marry you then?"
"I still don't remember a damn thing. The unofficial marriage certificate said it was at some place called Viva Las Vegas Weddings? That's all I know. I'd go to complain but I guess it wouldn't help anyway," Laura muttered. "There should be a law where they need to do a toxicology screen before they're allowed to marry you."
"Ha!" LaF suddenly shouted, their phone in their hands. "According to this, they do offer Elvis themed weddings. You totally could have had one!"
"Please, no," Laura whined, her head falling back dramatically.
"They have other themed weddings, too. Look! They have a gladiator themed wedding. That's boss. And- hell yes, a galactic themed wedding. They dress you up in Star Trek outfits! Could you imagine you and Carmilla dressed up like that?" LaF cackled.
"Why do you hate me?" Laura grumbled.
"Relax, I'll see if they have something Doctor Who themed for you. You would have definitely picked that," LaF chuckled.
"LaFontaine, leave her alone," Perry chided.
"Thank you! I'd be looking for something far more traditional. Just a super simple ceremony where we'd get teary eyed and express our love for each other and it'd be this beautiful moment of making this statement to each other of 'yes, it's you, it'll always be you and no one else'. Instead I got drunkenly paired off with… Carmilla," Laura gagged. "…Although a wedding in a TARDIS would be pretty awesome."
"Fine, fine," LaF sighed and put away their phone.
"So how are you holding up with the whole… seeing Carmilla again?" Perry questioned.
"Confusing," Laura replied.
"Are some feelings resurfacing or something?" LaF asked.
"What? Ugh, no! Definitely not. She's just as… awful as ever," Laura huffed. "I mean… okay, she's not terrible but still, no. I barked up that tree once and never again."
Perry and LaF shared a glance that Laura tried to ignore.
"We're just a little worried. You did, after all, fall into a bit of a depression because of her," Perry started.
"A bit? A bit of one? I once walked into her room and found her lying on the floor crying into a bowl of instant noodles," LaF pointed out.
"To be fair, I think that was over a final more than anything," Laura sighed. "Yes, between her behaviours and actions, admittedly I fell apart. Maybe. But I got out then, I'll get out now. She's working on finalizing some divorce things as we speak. I'm not worried and neither should you," Laura proclaimed.
"If you say so," LaF shrugged.
"I just… I'm curious, because you never told us what she did to you back then, either. Her unhygienic habits aside, what exactly did she do?" Perry questioned.
"She… she was just a horrible person. A horrible girlfriend. You wouldn't understand," Laura mumbled, closing herself off. She felt a tightness form in her chest. "Can we drop the topic? I don't want the rest of the trip ruined by Carmilla."
LaF and Perry shared another glance. Again, Laura ignored it.
"Well, okay, so what do you two want to do?" Perry asked.
"I heard there was a machine gun shooting range here," LaF lit up.
"No. No. Absolutely, positively not. No chance. No," Perry affirmed. LaF deflated.
"There's a Titanic exhibit I really wanted to see," Laura suggested.
"Ooh, I like that idea. Much safer," Perry nodded enthusiastically.
"I can settle for that," LaF sighed.
"Great, I'll look up where it is and call an Uber," Laura pulled out her phone, but just as she did, the screen lit up with a phone call. She stared at the screen.
"You okay there?" LaF questioned.
"Yeah fine, it's just… Carmilla," Laura mumbled.
"What was that about the rest of the trip not being ruined by Carmilla?" LaF cocked their eyebrow. Laura rolled her eyes and answered the call.
"This better be good news, like your mom was already able to get us divorced," Laura sighed to the phone.
"Not quite," Carmilla mumbled. "Sorry to cut into your Las Vegas fun, but we have some things to discuss."
"I'm keeping the dog," Laura joked.
"Funny," Carmilla snorted. "But seriously. There's been a… complication."
"Oh no. What?" Laura groaned.
"My Mother refuses to witness," Carmilla stated.
"What?!" Laura exclaimed. "Are you kidding me? Ugh, whatever. Fine, just do the random neighbour thing. Give them a trivia card of information about you."
"I'm afraid it's become a little more complicated than that, Cup… Laura," Carmilla corrected herself. "Mother wishes to see the both of us in person to… talk."
Laura blinked rapidly in surprise.
"Your mother? Wants to talk to me? In person? Lilita Morgan? CEO of Morgan Industries? The big-time media guru? Wants to talk to me?" Laura gasped.
"Don't get too excited. As you know, I'm not too fond of her for reasons I don't have the energy to list and she sounded very unhappy about… the situation of our union," Carmilla explained.
"Right, sorry. Well, this sounds less than ideal. What do you think she wants to discuss?" Laura questioned.
"Beats me. Maybe to yell at us, maybe to ostracize us from society. Who knows?" Carmilla rambled off.
"…Great," Laura muttered.
"Bottom line is she's flying us back to the City. Tonight," Carmilla revealed.
"Tonight?" Laura groaned.
"Yeah, sorry," Carmilla mumbled. "I'm not happy about this either. I was planning on ordering Chinese tonight."
"Funny," Laura mocked. "Okay, I guess you can't say no to Lilita Morgan, CEO of Morgan Industries."
"You… don't need to say her full title every time," Carmilla sighed. "Guess I'll see you soon."
"Yeah. See you," Laura said, hanging up. LaF and Perry looked at her expectantly. LaF was the first to speak up.
"So… what was that about Carmilla not ruining the rest of the trip?"
Laura had met Carmilla in her first year journalism class. Laura thought she was insufferable then, so it was any wonder that they started dating the next year, but life works in strange ways sometimes.
Just like how Laura happened to share her journalism class with the daughter of one of the biggest media moguls in the world. Of course, Laura didn't know that immediately – Carmilla had been meticulous with keeping herself out of the spotlight. The only time she had ever been on the radar was when she was 15, and her mom had done a huge story on the LGBTQ+ community after Carmilla came out to her. A story that, ironically, helped Laura come to terms with her sexuality.
But after that, she had faded from the press. It wasn't until a long night where they had been unfortunately paired for a research project that Carmilla revealed she had a much larger interest in philosophy, and she only took journalism because her Mother requested it of her.
Laura almost had a full-on panic attack.
But Laura never took advantage of Carmilla's lineage, through their unlikely friendship or their even more unlikely relationship. She had never even met Carmilla's mom.
That was all about to change. And despite the circumstances, and the stories Carmilla had told her about Lilita and the more corrupt side of her company that would eradicate her reputation, Laura was buzzing. It's only natural that an aspiring journalist would be anxious to meet the queen of media.
Laura only hoped Lilita didn't hate her for drunkenly marrying her daughter. Such a thing would be a career killer and Laura was struggling to break from coffee-fetcher enough as it was.
If she wasn't intimidated enough, the sight of Lilita's office sure didn't help. It had the same classy chic that Carmilla's apartment had (Laura guessed Carmilla hadn't done the decorating), except turn the ritzy level up by 100. It was like walking into the epitome of success – this was the visual representation of having the power to rule the world.
And then there was Lilita herself. Laura had only seen her in pictures and video, but somehow her angles were sharper in person. Her eyes darker, especially as they fell on Carmilla when they entered the room.
"Carmilla," Lilita stood up from her desk with her arms outstretched stiffly, "How long has it been? About a year now?"
"Something like that," Carmilla muttered, stepping into her mom's vicinity.
What occurred next, Laura could only describe as something akin to Voldemort hugging Draco Malfoy.
Lilita stepped away and turned her attention to Laura. Laura felt any ability to breathe get caught somewhere in the back of her throat.
"And you must be Lara," Lilita acknowledged.
"Uh, Laura. Yes," Laura nodded, reaching her hand out. Lilita eyed it cautiously for a moment before shaking Laura's hand in a manner that suggested Laura's hand was nothing more than a used napkin.
"Pleasure," Lilita turned away in a stiff, robotic motion and headed back behind her desk. She gestured to the chairs in front of her. "Please, sit down."
Laura looked at Carmilla, who had a blank expression on her face. Carmilla obediently took her seat and Laura followed suit. Lilita finally sat as well and viewed them in silence for a moment.
Laura felt supremely uncomfortable. A scanner might as well have popped out of Lilita's eyeballs and ran over the both of them.
"So, you are the same Laura that Carmilla spoke so fondly of back in her school days. You dated for a time then, yes?" Lilita questioned.
"Um, yes ma'am," Laura confirmed. Lilita looked thoughtful.
"Yes, I remember a few things that I heard about you. An aspiring journalist. Sweet. Head strong. The desire to do good. The time you were in Carmilla's life was the most I ever heard her voice, I believe. She just couldn't stop talking about you," Lilita leaned forward. "And then one day it just… stopped."
Laura looked over at Carmilla. Her jaw seemed tight.
"Well… we broke up," Laura stated.
"Quite," Lilita took her full posture again. "And now here you are again, brought back together in the most peculiar of circumstances," Lilita's eyes went to Laura's hands. "For both being married, the two of you seem to be lacking any sort of trinket of symbolism on your fingers."
"We took them off," Carmilla stated suddenly.
"Uh, yeah. It's not like we're going to be married much longer anyway," Laura agreed. Lilita's eyes narrowed.
"Yes, Carmilla told me of your plan to… divorce, and needing me to witness," Lilita started slowly. "I hope you realize the position this puts me in."
Laura's brow furrowed.
"With all due respect, ma'am, to me it just seems as simple as signing a piece of paper and this goes away for all of us," Laura concluded. Lilita viewed her sharply.
"And you wish to be a journalist? Intriguing," Lilita clicked her tongue. "Dear girl, you're not seeing the big picture here. Carmilla is my daughter. However hard she tried to detach herself from my media bubble, something like this will be noticed."
"Okay, so it's a bit of a scandal. I'm sorry about that. But you have so much influence, can't you just sweep it under the rug?" Laura questioned.
"Laura…" Carmilla sighed.
"You must recognize the implication of all this. I arguably helped launch a large movement for LGBT rights and my company has been an astute ally ever since Carmilla came out. Carmilla, however she tries to ignore it, is a vibrant symbol of this support and the positive message we try to send forward – this includes the push for gay marriage. Now that it's legal in this country, how do you think it'll reflect when papers and websites start publishing the news that Carmilla Karnstein, daughter of Lilita Morgan and shining beacon of gay hope, ruined that sanctity through a drunken bender and had a marriage last shorter than the heterosexual marriage of a Kardashian," Lilita argued.
Laura stared at her, stunned.
"So this is about your reputation as an ally?" Laura interrogated. A tight smile formed on Lilita's face.
"You can view it like that, or you can view it as me attempting not to delegitimize the marriages of your community. I'm really just looking out for your people," Lilita stated. A flame of anger ignited in Laura's chest. Off to the side, Carmilla put her face in her hand.
"Gee, thanks," Laura muttered, "but wouldn't delegitimizing our marriage more of come in the form of, I don't know, forcing gay people to be this picture-perfect union in order to be taken seriously? It's called marriage equality. Why don't we get to marry the wrong person the first or second or even eighth time, or get to accidentally marry someone in Las Vegas like heterosexual couples get away with all the time? Why do we have to be held to a higher standard to be considered 'legitimate'? Maybe print that in your paper," Laura fumed.
Carmilla groaned. Lilita clicked her tongue.
"I admire your… passion, but I'm afraid society isn't caught up yet. Unfortunately, this is a stepping stone in the long journey of progress," Lilita stated.
Laura turned to Carmilla.
"Carmilla? You've been annoyingly silent. What do you think?" Laura questioned.
"I think I need a drink," Carmilla rubbed her temple roughly.
"Oh yes, because that's what we need. Another accidental marriage at the hands of alcohol. At least I'd have an excuse to print a progressive piece about polyamory," Lilita huffed.
"This is all about getting the right story for you, isn't it?" Laura glared, all forms of being polite going out the window. "Do you know what you're asking? You're asking me to stay married to someone I don't want to because it would reflect badly on your image and company!"
"And Carmilla. Despite what she thinks, I do try to look out for her," Lilita clarified. "And come now, it would only be temporary. Just a few public appearances at some large media events that you would attend under my steed. Your Las Vegas wedding would be under the guise that the both of you were just so much in love that you couldn't wait to tie the knot. You'd demonstrate that for the cameras, make a big show of it, and then when everyone has moved on, you can quietly get your divorce. Maybe a few years down the line, we can even use it to introduce the idea that gay marriage doesn't have to be perfect to be valid, or whatever you said," Lilita waved her hand dismissively.
"Well that's all very nice but there's no way in hell I'm flaunting something that isn't real for the media's consumption. Talk about invalidating my community," Laura glowered.
"You two were in a relationship before. It should be like riding a bike," Lilita scoffed.
"Riding a bike? You think it's like riding a bike to pretend to be in a relationship that seriously drove me to the brink of my sanity?" Laura snapped. Carmilla visibly flinched beside her. "Forget it."
"I don't know what happened between you two, but I assure you that keeping up the charade for a short while will be in both of your best interests," Lilita warned.
"How? How could not getting out if this seriously messed up situation benefit us more?" Laura rolled her eyes.
"Well first of all, things would go a lot smoother for Carmilla. I'd hate to have to throw her under the bus and portray her as some sort of rebellious playgirl that I don't condone in order to save face," Lilita threatened. "But in regards to you… I did some digging. You're working at a small media outlet, yes? Oh, but you haven't done much more than doing errands for the true journalists. And it's been, what, two years and you haven't made a breakthrough? Such a shame. How frustrating that must be for someone as passionate as you."
"What's your point?" Laura's eyes narrowed.
"Mother, don't," Carmilla pleaded.
"Hush," Lilita held up her hand. "I'm saying you know exactly how cutthroat this industry is. Sometimes you need a little boost in order to get where you want to go. And those media events, with my name backing you up while married to my daughter? That would be quite the juicy boost to your career in this industry, wouldn't it?"
Laura gaped at her.
"What… what is this? Bribery? You really think I'll undermine my beliefs to take that bait?" Laura scoffed.
"Please," Lilita gestured to herself, "you think I got where I am today without taking a few lures along the way? Sure, I made a few lures of my own, and that's what makes me a CEO of one of the most successful enterprises in the world at the end of the day. But the road to success involves taking the chances you can get, and that may involve undermining your beliefs. It's just a reality, and you've been lucky enough to be handing the greatest chance that can be offered," Lilita paused, looking thoughtful. "Otherwise, you might find it… rather difficult to break into the industry. You might even have trouble finding another errand girl job if you're not careful."
"Mother," Carmilla snapped.
"Seriously!? Blackmail?! We've stooped to blackmail. You're right, this is a cutthroat industry. I can clearly see how you clawed your way to the top," Laura spat, standing up. "If this is the extent of what I'd have to do to make it anywhere in this industry, I don't want it. None of it."
Lilita stood as well.
"Foolish girl. You may claim to take the high road but here you are, married to my daughter. You can't tell me you never thought it would be advantageous to have such prestigious relations. If you truly have the drive of a journalist then how do I know you didn't rope my daughter into this marriage for this very purpose? If so, I applaud you, and I give to you what you desire like a carrot on a stick. Take it! I won't pull away," Lilita implored. White hot anger shot through Laura.
"You can't be serous. You think I orchestrated all this? I was not the reason we got into this mess. Sure, I'm partly to blame, but I assure you I would have never suggested I get married to her no matter what influence I was under," Laura growled, turning to Carmilla. "Don't you have to say something about this?"
Carmilla took a deep breath, "Mother, Laura is possibly more stubborn than you are. Your threats are futile against her. You'll just be at a stalemate."
"So you agree you want the divorce despite my generous negotiations to make this go far smoother?" Lilita's nostrils flared.
"I really don't care," Carmilla huffed.
"You don't care?" Laura snapped. "You've been sitting there letting me argue the whole time and all you have to contribute is you don't care."
"I've learned not to argue with my Mother," Carmilla muttered.
"At least my daughter sees reason in all this," Lilita puffed out. Laura looked between the two of them, the gears cranking in her head.
"Wait… mind games. Of course. I can't believe I didn't see it before," Laura gasped. "You're trying to turn this around on me when I know it wasn't my suggestion. Oh, you're good. But you won't pull one over on me. Like you said, you're at the top of the game for a reason."
"Whatever are you talking about?" Lilita scoffed.
"You've been pulling the strings like a media tyrant. You saw how this could benefit you and you took the chance. The lure, as you said. And Carmilla-" Laura turned to her, "maybe your relationship with your mother isn't as bad as I thought. Your refusal to fight her on this? Your nonchalance about this whole thing? Maybe you're trying to angle this your way as well – to make me stuck with you as long as possible."
Carmilla stood up, shaking her head. "Laura, why would I ever-"
"I don't know! To torture me? You're pretty good at that! Some things clearly never change," Laura spat. Carmilla flinched again and she fell silent.
"You're being unreasonable. I'm just asking for a few events-" Lilita started.
"Forget it. I'm not playing either of your games," Laura started moving toward the door. "I want someone to sign the witness signature. I don't care who. Either your mom or a neighbour, whoever. Just get it signed. If I'm not divorced by the end of the week, I'll make my own career by exposing every single one of this company's dirty secrets. I don't care if you bring the fires of hell down upon me."
"You're making a mistake," Lilita called after her. Laura turned just before the door close behind her.
"I already made a mistake, and that was marrying Carmilla," Laura declared, storming away as the door slammed.
Laura did her best not to think about the look of hurt on Carmilla's face.
"Honey, do you want hot cocoa?" Laura's dad yelled up the stairs to Laura in her childhood bedroom, which was also her adulthood bedroom. Hard to move out when you're making minimum wage doing errands for "real" journalists.
"No," Laura's shout was muffled by the pillow her face had been stuffed into the past several hours.
"Are you sure? I can load it up with whipped cream. I know you like whipped cream. And maybe those chocolate sprinkles?" her dad kept pushing.
Laura had to think about it a moment.
"Maybe in a bit," Laura finally decided, dislodging her face from the pillow.
"Alright, you just let me know," he replied, and Laura heard the squeaks of the floorboards as he moved away from the bottom of the stairs. Her face immediately became one with the pillow again.
Laura had told him all about the infuriating meeting. He was proud of her for putting her foot down, but Laura didn't expect him to let her leave the house ever again.
Just as well. Maybe she was just meant for the hermit life.
A buzz from her phone roused her from her retreat back into solitude. With a groan, Laura reached over and snatched her phone off her bedside table.
It was an email.
From Viva Las Vegas Weddings.
Laura was already trying to sulk enough as it was. She didn't need another reminder of the predicament she was in.
Still, the curiosity got the better of her. She blamed her journalistic side. Maybe it would be an email explaining that the ceremony had been performed improperly and they had to inform her that she wasn't really married at all. That would solve a lot of things. Or, more likely, it was a promotional coupon for her next drunken marriage. Either way…
Laura opened it, and it had link to an attachment labelled "wedding photos".
"Oh my god," Laura gaped. Evidence. Actual photo evidence of that night. Laura was scared to see what she would find behind that attachment.
Damn her journalistic curiosity.
Laura slowly looked over the photos one by one. She half expected to see herself flopped over with Carmilla pulling puppet strings to control her every move. Instead, she saw two people who looked… obviously very out of it and drunk, but also very happy. They were doing the cliché gazing into each other's eyes. Draped over each other. Smiling. Laughing. Laura couldn't remember a time she would have looked so happy.
Laura stiffened when she came to a picture that almost seemed to be a selfie of the two of them, Laura's arms around Carmilla's neck and her lips firmly pressed to Carmilla's cheek. Carmilla had a dreamy look on her face. Laura gulped, swiping over to the next picture.
They were standing at the alter, their lips firmly locked in a way that made Laura's stomach do all sorts of confused flops. It's not like she didn't remember kissing Carmilla back when they dated, but it had been put so far out of her mind that it was hard to identify with the Laura in the photo. How could she look so… content? With Carmilla? Kissing Carmilla?
Then Laura's vision shifted to the man who ordained their wedding. He was particularly eye catching because of his attire. With embarrassment that filled Laura's entire body, she realized he was dressed as a vampire.
A vampire minister.
It all came flooding back.
Night of the Wedding
"LaF? Perry?" Laura's eyes scanned the crowd of the club looking for her friends. She didn't even know if she was in the same club they started in. It didn't look the same. Or did it?
Where did her friends go? She couldn't be alone in a big party city far from home. Her dad would have an aneurism. His dad senses were probably going wild.
Her eyes did another scan. She tried to pick out at least some red hair of some form, but the flashing lights made everyone's hair red at some points. And then yellow. And green.
Laura felt dizzy.
"Whoa, hey," a guy seemed steady Laura as she stumbled a bit. "You okay there?"
Laura looked up at him. He reminded her of one of the fraternity bros back in university. Great.
"Yeah, yeah. I'm fine. Just looking for my friends," Laura rambled out.
"Hey, maybe I can help you find them," he offered.
"No, it's fine," Laura shook her head, stepping away. He closed the distance again and a red flag went off in Laura's head. "I'm sure they're around here somewhere."
"Maybe on the dance floor? You'd probably find them easier if you started dancing there too. Maybe with me?" the guy smiled. Laura scowled slightly.
"Oh, you're sweet, but I am very gay so I don't want you getting your hopes up," Laura turned away, hoping to magically see LaF and Perry somewhere nearby. They weren't, and the guy stepped in front of her again.
"Hey, I don't mind. I'm a huge ally of the LPQRS… whatever. I'm fine with hanging out for the night and seeing what happens," he winked. Laura stared at him, bewildered. She was too drunk for this.
As if it would help, Laura used her hands to form the shape of the rainbow over her head.
"Gay. I am gay," Laura repeated. The guy just laughed.
"Man, you really are playing hard to get," he shook his head. "Look, you can drop the act. I know girls just say that so they can seem more enticing to us dudes. My buddy told me."
"Your buddy sounds like a genius," Laura rolled her eyes.
"Well guess what? It's working. Consider me… enticed," he stepped closer.
Laura was just about to punch him in the throat.
"Hey, the music too loud for you, or what?" a sultry voice came from behind Laura. "She said she's not interested."
The guy scowled, looking over Laura's shoulder.
"And who are you?" he demanded.
Whoever was behind her stepped beside her and Laura felt an arm snake around her shoulder.
Whoever it was smelled really good.
"Her girlfriend," the voice sneered. "So go try and conquer other lands, Na-bro-leon Bro-naparte."
His face filled with disgust.
"So wait, you're actually lesbians?" he gawked, turning to storm away. "This is so uncool."
"Good riddance. You okay?" the girl said to Laura once he was gone. She removed her arm and Laura turned to thank her mysterious heroin.
"Yeah I'm fine. I was about to hit the guy anyway but you saved me from getting kicked out of the club- Carmilla," Laura gaped. She couldn't believe it had taken her so long to register just who she was talking to.
Carmilla, drink in hand and a soft smirk on her face tilted her head.
"Hey, cutie," Carmilla chuckled. She seemed a little unsteady. She had probably had a fair few of those drinks. "Fancy meeting you here."
"Yeah- I mean- it's been… gosh, how long?" Laura gaped.
"Four years. Give or take," Carmilla sighed. She bit her lip, a solemn look overcoming her. "Anyway, if you're okay, I'll just…"
"No!" Laura grasped onto Carmilla's arm, and they both froze. "Um…" Laura slowly let go of Carmilla's arm. "It's just, been a while. And I'm kind of alone. And I can't punch every guy in the throat that hits on me. So maybe we could catch up?"
Carmilla observed Laura with confusion.
"Sure, whatever you want."
"And then- oh man, do you remember Kirsch?" Laura laughed. "Do you remember how he snuck in a puppy on campus and we had to hide it?"
"Yeah. And I'm allergic to dogs," Carmilla scoffed.
"Which is exactly why we got caught. Perry saw you breaking out in hives and immediately started searching our dorm for toxic mold," Laura pouted. "Kirsch was so sad."
"Hey, it went to a great home," Carmilla pointed out, lifting her drink.
"Yeah, you're right," Laura sighed, clinking her drink with Carmilla's.
They had moved to a quieter bar that was one of Carmilla's favourites so they could talk. They probably should have slowed down on their drinking. Maybe. Eventually. Not yet.
For some reason, Laura felt like if she stopped drinking, she would lose this feeling. This feeling she hadn't experienced for a long time. Whatever that was.
"We had a lot of fun in that dorm," Laura chuckled. "Gotta hand it to Perry for setting us up both in the same room for second year. Guess it makes up for the puppy thing."
"Hmm, I do remember some good times," Carmilla said wistfully.
"Some good times even came from those hives, if I recall. You needed help applying the allergy cream," Laura smirked.
"Er… yes," Carmilla slowly started to turn red.
"Those hives were everywhere," Laura grinned. Carmilla cleared her throat.
"They were not. I believe you took some liberties," Carmilla accused.
"I don't remember that," Laura laughed, taking another large sip of her drink. The world was slowly getting blurrier. Her chest getting warmer. "I can't remember much, of course."
"That's probably the alcohol, creampuff," Carmilla snorted, sipping at her own drink. Laura tiled her head.
"No, not that," Laura muttered. "I mean about us. I don't remember why I… why we…"
"Laura," Carmilla stopped her, "let's not… ruin this."
"What do you mean?" Laura questioned.
"We have so much to talk about," Carmilla said. "I just don't think we should talk like this. And… I don't think you'll want to talk when you're sober."
"What? No. Why?" Laura blinked. Carmilla shook her head, downing the rest of her drink.
"You never wanted to talk," Carmilla stated. "Four years. I never heard from you."
"That's not fair," Laura pouted. "I never heard from you either."
Carmilla rolled the empty glass around in her hand.
"Yeah. I know," Carmilla whispered. She started to get up from her side of the booth. "Well, now that this evening has been officially ruined…"
"Carm, wait," Laura scrambled up, standing in front of Carmilla's bench. "Just wait. Please."
Carmilla stared at her, her eyes slightly unfocused. She nodded, sitting back down. Laura slid onto the bench as well. She probably leaned in far closer than she needed to.
"I should hate you. I feel like I should be angry or… throw you off a cliff," Laura stated plainly.
"Flattering," Carmilla sighed.
"But I see you now and it's the first time I've… I've felt whole for a long time." Laura breathed.
"Laura… we broke up for a reason," Carmilla choked.
"Maybe I don't care right now," Laura murmured. Carmilla searched her eyes.
"Really?" she inquired. Laura nodded slowly.
"Maybe I just really… really want to kiss you right now," Laura croaked. "I don't want to think about the us of the past. I wanna think of the us of right now."
"Cupcake… we're really drunk," Carmilla gulped.
"You said we wouldn't talk when sober, right?" Laura questioned, tilting her head. "Then maybe we should take the time to… not talk now. While we can."
Laura moved in ever closer, smelling the alcohol on Carmilla's breath. She paused, just enough to give Carmilla enough chance to move away if she wanted to.
She didn't.
Their lips connected, and the feeling that washed over Laura was phenomenal. It was the same feeling she had coming home after a long, hard day – multiplied by a thousand. Carmilla's lips were so familiar. Inviting. Enticing. Comforting. It really was like feeling whole again.
Maybe that was wrong. It was so wrong, but she didn't care.
Laura deepened the kiss, her hand going to the back of Carmilla's head. As she had done so many times. It was like muscle memory. They still fit together so well.
Carmilla was still so good at nipping at Laura's lip in that way Laura loved so much.
The moment Laura's hand started creeping into Carmilla's shirt, Carmilla pulled back.
"Laura," Carmilla held up her hand, her breath heavy. "We shouldn't- I mean, I want to, god I want to, but I don't… I don't deserve your forgiveness," it was then that Laura noticed tears in Carmilla's eyes, "I didn't treat you the way you deserved. We broke up because I-"
"Shh," Laura hushed, her fingers lazily falling on Carmilla's lips. "Let's not ruin the evening, right?"
Laura moved in to kiss Carmilla again, and Carmilla's trembling lips only lingered a second before she pulled back again.
"You're being very… convincing… but I'd rather not get blacklisted from my favourite bar for having sex with you in the booth," Carmilla reasoned, though the way her hands were travelling up Laura's torso suggested her will-power was wearing thin.
Laura bit her own lip, smirking. "You have a place, right? Somewhere with a bed? Couch?" Laura moved to nip at Carmilla's ear, making her shudder. "Kitchen counter?"
"Oh, god, yes" Carmilla groaned. Then, she stiffened. "No, no. Dammit. No."
She slid away from Laura, staring straight ahead with intensity. Carmilla's hands were clenched in her lap. Laura took a deep breath, regarding her carefully.
"It's okay. I won't force you," Laura muttered. Carmilla's eyes shut tight.
"I want you so badly," Carmilla admitted with a shaky voice. Her eyes opened and she turned to look at Laura again. "But then I don't think I'll ever see you or hear from you again. I don't know if I can do that."
Laura blinked at her. Her hand rested on Carmilla's shoulder.
"Why not?" Laura questioned.
"You said you should hate me," Carmilla croaked. "And you probably should. And you're probably going to. As soon as you wake up. As soon as your sober. Then it'll all come back – why you hate me so much. And then you'll be gone."
Laura gawked at her. And she knew Carmilla was right. She was far too drunk. She was so ready to forget everything to spend another night with Carmilla again. To feel something again. Laura figured that her sober self would be far more logical.
And then what? She'd… lose Carmilla?
Panic struck through Laura's heart.
She couldn't lose this feeling. She couldn't lose Carmilla. She had just gotten her back. She wanted to see Carmilla's face every day. For the rest of her life.
"Marry me," Laura blurted out. Carmilla looked startled.
"Excuse me?" Carmilla questioned.
"Marry me. Then we… we have to be stuck with each other," Laura reasoned.
"That's romantic," Carmilla's brow furrowed.
"Please. I don't like the idea of losing you. I wanna figure this out. I want us to work this out," Laura pleaded. "I don't think I'll ever feel whole again if I don't."
Laura really had no idea what she was saying, but she was on a drunken rant at that point.
"Cupcake… you're talking marriage-"
"And where better than Vegas?" Laura questioned. "Do you want to? Be my wife, Carm. We'll figure out whatever comes next together."
Somewhere, Laura's dad's dad senses were off the charts.
"This is… such a stupid idea," Carmilla breathed out.
"It totally is," Laura agreed, leaning in to kiss Carmilla softly. "But I don't care."
She kissed Carmilla again and felt her melt. Carmilla's breath quivered as she pulled away.
"Fuck it. Okay," Carmilla complied. Laura's hands moved up to cup Carmilla's face.
"Yeah?" she questioned.
"Yeah, let's get married. Make our sober selves figure it out," Carmilla nodded.
"We're gonna be so pissed at ourselves," Laura laughed, yanking Carmilla in for a vehement kiss.
"You're killing me, Hollis," Carmilla moaned against Laura's lips.
Laura was hastily pushing Carmilla's shirt off as soon as they got into Carmilla's apartment. Laura tossed the shirt to the ground and slammed Carmilla back into the door, shutting it with the force as they both dropped their purses.
Fuck, it had been so long.
She felt the curves of Carmilla's torso, felt the way the new ring on her finger slid over Carmilla's skin. It felt heavy. A good kind of heavy.
"Aren't you, supposed to, carry me over the, threshold, Cupcake?" Carmilla panted between kisses. Laura moaned, unclipping Carmilla's bra and letting it fall to the ground. She moved to pressing kisses to Carmilla's collarbone.
"We're also supposed to be wearing complicated and intricate wedding dresses that would take forever to get out of," Laura growled into Carmilla's neck. "I feel like all the traditional wedding things are designed to keep you from sex as long as possible."
"We don't want that," Carmilla gasped as Laura swooped down to suck one of Carmilla's nipples into her mouth.
"Mmm," Laura hummed softly, her fingers digging into Carmilla's sides.
It was all so familiar. Like she had never left. How could she have ever left?
"Fuck, okay," Carmilla grunted, her hips bucking Laura back. She slowly started forcing Laura backwards, her eyes dark and hungry. "Bedroom."
Carmilla dropped the marriage certificate on the kitchen counter as they went by, and soon found themselves in Carmilla's very soft bed.
Carmilla straddled Laura, pushing her into the bed while she started stripping Laura's clothes off and carelessly tossing them around the room. Laura also did her best to push off Carmilla's leather pants and any other fabric she found underneath.
Laura felt Carmilla's full flesh weight on top of her, and again it felt so familiar, as did the way Carmilla's teeth dug into her neck. She let out a moan.
"Is this why you chose a vampire themed wedding?" Carmilla questioned, her voice low and her breath hot. "You were thinking about how I used to do this?"
"I… just thought it'd be fun but now that you mention it, yeah. Yeah, I did miss this," Laura groaned, shifting her leg to fit between Carmilla's, feeling the damp heat gyrate against her thigh. Carmilla gasped, lifting her head.
Laura watched Carmilla's expression. Her eyes were shut tight, her bottom lip firmly caught between her teeth as she took in the feeling of Laura's thigh pressed against her. With a shudder, she pressed against Laura's thigh, sliding herself down slowly, leaving a cool sensation behind as the air hit the evidence of Carmilla's arousal. She stopped at the base of Laura's thigh and started rolling her hips, making her hip bone brush up against Laura's own arousal. Laura moaned, lifting her head to bury her face in Carmilla's neck.
"I missed you," Carmilla husked, her hips moving to push Laura up to a sitting position against the headboard. "I missed you so much."
"Carmilla," Laura moaned again, letting Carmilla switch her movements to focus on giving more attention to Laura, pressing against her. "God, you're my wife. You're my wife."
Carmilla slid her hand up the wall behind Laura, steadying herself while she moved her other hand, complete with ring, between herself and Laura to carefully run over Laura's more delicate and sensitive nook before easing her fingers inside.
Her eyes were dark as they looked over Laura, but they were warm, albeit with a hint of pain and regret. But that look was also familiar. It was always how Carmilla would look at Laura when they were dating.
"And you're mine, Cupcake."
Present Day
Laura held the receiver of her phone anxiously against her ear.
"Come on, pick up," Laura muttered. Finally, after four rings, the phone clicked.
"Hello? Laura?"
"LaF!" Laura gasped. "LaF, I have something very important to tell you. And when I tell you, I need you to be supportive and not judge me. This is really mortifying but I figured I should let you know."
"Yeah, sure, whatever you need," LaF agreed.
"Okay," Laura nodded. She took a deep breath. "I… had a vampire themed wedding."
Laura had to pull the phone away from her ear to help lessen the volume of the laughter that erupted from the other end of the line.
"Yeah, sure, thanks for the support," Laura yelled, ending the call.
She let out a long sigh. Okay, now time for the actual nerve wracking phone call.
Her hands were shaky as they punched in the number, and her whole arm quaked as she held the phone up to her ear.
It only took two rings.
"Hey. Did you need something else? Do you actually want to keep the dog? I feel the need to tell you we really don't have a dog to argue custody over," Carmilla's bored voice came over the other end.
"Carmilla! Hey! How are you? What are you up to?" Laura's voice and smile were stiff. There was a pause over the phone.
"…Oh, you know, I've been better. At the airport. Going to get a neighbour to sign it, since I'll never convince Mother. Look, Laura, if that's why you're calling… Whatever you might think about me and my intentions, I'm going to take care of this for you. I promise," Carmilla assured her.
The guilt hit Laura like lightning.
"No, that's not… ugh," Laura huffed out. "I actually called to… apologize."
"Apologize?" Carmilla questioned.
"Yeah. I mean, your mom is still kind of… the worst, but I was too harsh on you and I'm sorry," Laura started.
"Oh. Okay. Sure, it's whatever," Carmilla said.
"No, it's really not whatever," Laura took in another deep breath. "I also need to apologize for blaming you for the wedding. I realize I was… wrong."
Another bit of silence over the phone.
"Oh really? Why's that?" Carmilla inquired.
"I may have remembered some things. And I may have remembered that it might have been more of my idea than I… previously imagined?" Laura admitted hesitantly. She heard Carmilla chuckle.
"Yeah, I know," Carmilla confirmed. This time, Laura was the one to leave a bit of silence over the phone.
"Wh-what? But I thought you said you didn't remember," Laura gaped.
"I didn't. Initially. It came back in bits and pieces," Carmilla explained.
"And you let me accuse you! In front of your mom and everything! Why didn't you tell me?" Laura scowled.
"You seemed pretty convinced. You sure you would've believed me, or would you have just attributed it to mind games?" Carmilla asked.
Laura winced, thinking back to her behaviour back in Lilita's office.
"No, I suppose you're right. I wouldn't have believed you," Laura admitted. "So, I'm sorry. All this was my fault."
"Don't worry about it. We were both drunk. We made some poor decisions based on alcohol and some… confused feelings. I could've said no. So, you can still blame me if you wish," Carmilla offered.
"Thanks. It does feel better to blame you," Laura sighed, eliciting a chuckle from Carmilla.
"So, is that all?" Carmilla questioned.
"No," Laura bit her lip, feeling dread. "I want you to do something else for me."
"Name it," Carmilla said.
"I need you to leave the airport and stay in New York City. Because I'm telling your mom I'm accepting her offer, if you are," Laura revealed.
It had been the longest silence over the phone yet.
"…What?" Carmilla gaped.
"Well I figured, since this is technically my fault… I should make it right for everyone, right? I mean, I still think your mom's rational was all… screwy, and I don't agree with any of it. But if I can make this smoother for the both of us? I think I owe you that much," Laura sighed. "Plus I really do need a career boost."
"I can tell every connection we meet at the parties that you're an awful journalist if that will help you keep your ethical code intact," Carmilla teased.
"Gee, thanks," Laura rolled her eyes. "So you're in?"
"Sure. Just have to set some boundaries between us, I think," Carmilla reasoned.
"Oh yes. Boundaries. Boundaries are great. We can talk about it in person, since you're leaving the airport. Right?" Laura inquired.
"Going to call an Uber and my Mother as soon as I hang up," Carmilla confirmed.
"Awesome," Laura sighed, "This'll be an adventure."
"I swear you'll get rid of me eventually," Carmilla promised. "See you soon."
"Yeah. And thank you. Again. And Sorry. Again," Laura rambled.
"Thank you for throwing your integrity out of the window for me," Carmilla chuckled.
"Shut up," Laura huffed, hanging up.
She fell back on her bed, groaning. She hated that she had to spend some more time with Carmilla. She hated that she was confused by drunken Laura's actions and feelings. She hated that she suddenly didn't like the idea of getting rid of Carmilla anymore.
She hated drunken Laura most of all.
Laura slowly pushed herself up, wandering over to her suitcase that she had yet to unpack. She dug through it, finding a small plastic pouch and pouring out the small gold ring into her palm. She observed the way it shone in the light.
"What have I gotten myself into?"
Author's Note: So hi! This is the part where I'm like "heeey I hope you enjoyed it" so... heeey I hope you enjoyed it. Obviously there will be more. We still have a fake dating/marriage but like really married trope to cover still. Okay, so it's a little more complicated. I wonder how this will unfold? And what did Carmilla do to Laura all those years ago? Questions, questions. Let me know what you thought if you thought some things while you read it!