A/N: Another fluffy Hollstein one shot? I mean, psshhh... how could I not?
This takes place a little before Season 2: Episode 1, since it shows the gang returning to Silas and arriving at the dean's quarters. I like to think that it's set on the same day of Episode 1, but I'm not sure exactly how everything would fit in with canon. So just call this... slightly canon with a twist!
Hope you enjoy, creampuffs!
Disclaimer: I own neither Carmilla nor its characters. Just a harmless little Hollstein shipper here!
"Carm, was that language really necessary?"
I give Carmilla a look of feigned yet somewhat convincing disapproval as we walk alongside each other through the surprisingly still air of Silas University. The moon shines unusually bright on this night, considering the amount of ongoing supernatural chaos that we've managed to escape in the past few weeks. The chilly breeze sends shivers up our spines as we walk through the cool grass, which makes small crunching noises underneath our feet.
"Well, cupcake, who am I to let such an extensive, centuries-old vocabulary go to waste?" Carmilla replies back with a sly smirk. "And besides, even you can't resist my seventeenth century charm." She playfully nudges my arm with her elbow, an action that she seems to have picked up from me.
"How can I?" I ask Carmilla as I close the remaining distance between us, lacing my left arm into her right and snuggling into her shoulder. "Oh, I'm Carmilla Karnstein, I love to read, randomly strip in the middle of the room, and leave my underwear everywhere!" I tease in my best impression of Carmilla and her voice (which is actually the worst impression ever, apparently). "I act so broody and badass all the time when really I'm just a super gay closeted sweetheart who loves making hot cocoa for my girlfriend."
I smile when Carmilla scoffs and relaxes into me, slightly tilting her head to rest on mine as we continue to walk through the ill-maintained grass lawns of Silas. I don't exactly know where this building that we're headed towards is, so I allow Carmilla to lead the way. Perry and LaFontaine are currently a few minutes behind us; I can hear them captivated in a heated discussion about human clones and mind-controlling demigods. All of us seem to be a little shaken up upon being back on campus yet slightly relieved that we're finally settling down again.
"Speaking of cocoa," Carmilla lifts her head, "I can't believe that we decided to disappear after this whole doomsday nonsense and you still managed to bring your nerdy little phone booth-shaped mug with you."
"Hey! I love that mug! And if you think it's so nerdy, then why do you keep stealing it from me?" I playfully shout, albeit slightly offended. "Also, Doctor Who is a classic. I can't believe we haven't watched it together yet. Carm, we should totally have a marathon tonight! I maaaaay or may not have brought every season of Doctor Who on DVD with me..."
"Laura, no." Carmilla stops us in our path, pausing briefly to shake her head. "There is absolutely no way I am watching every single episode of that overrated mess of a show. It's putrid and unrealistic and— and I'd rather die."
"Nice try, cupcake," I mock, "but you're already dead. Well, sort of. And besides, don't you wanna cuddle with me?" I wiggle my eyebrows at her upon exposing her weakness.
Carmilla just looks back at me with a stern look and a raised eyebrow. She tries to take a step and begin walking again but I keep my hold on her arm and turn her to face me. "Come oooonnn, Carm, I know how much you love to cuddle with me. At least just think about it. We could curl up in bed together in our pajamas... next to a fireplace... maybe read one of your books together... and I'll make sure to lock the door so we have no unwelcome interruptions... It'll be just you and me for hours on end," I try to convince her, running my fingers up and down the side of her arm and nuzzling into her shoulder again. Carmilla tries to keep her eyes focused up on the stars, clearly avoiding eye contact with me. I pull back to try and get her to look at me.
"Pleeeaaaaasseeee...? I'll even let you wear that one sweater that you're always trying to steal from me," I offer in a singsongy voice before grabbing her biceps and lightly shaking her, pleading. Carmilla finally looks at me and rolls her eyes at first, but her lips quickly curl into a soft smile and she leans her head down to rest her forehead on mine. I can feel the warmth radiating from her as our noses brush together.
"Well, when you put it that way, cutie," she pauses, "I think I might like that very much," Carmilla says with a glint in her eye and a rasp in her voice, intentionally using the same words that she said to me on the night that I was resolved to a nervous mess after asking her out. And here it was, happening again. Why does she make me so nervous? God, she's so sexy.
"Umm, great! Yeah!" I respond awkwardly, pulling away slightly after noticing that our foreheads are still resting against each other's. "Uhh, okay, so then... yay! I guess it's a pla—"
My absent-minded sputtering is cut off by the feel of surprisingly warm lips pressed against mine. Thank goodness. I melt into the kiss as I try to match Carmilla's movements, slowly letting out a breath that I didn't know I was holding. I allow myself to deepen the kiss, slowly pushing my tongue into her mouth, moaning slightly when I feel my tongue brush against the very tips of her concealed fangs. Carmilla brings both of her hands up to tangle in my windswept hair, her thumbs brushing the back of my ears and her elbows gently resting on either of my shoulders.
She feels so warm pressed against me. Pressed so close that she can probably feel the butterflies swimming around in my stomach. And her lips. I love her lips. They actually don't taste metallic like one would expect. Carmilla tastes sweet. Actually, she kinda tastes like those irresistible (but incredibly unhealthy) chocolate chip cookies that I'm always snacking on, which, by the way, is really peculiar considering my last box went missing a couple of days ago...
"Mmm, hey Carm?" I ask in-between kisses. Carmilla hums in response, smiling into every kiss. "Did you—uhh... did you take— my—"
"Shhh ssshhhh... Less talking, more kissing..." she cuts me off, carrying out an attack on my neck. Yup, totally stole my cookies, I think to myself. A few giggles escape as Carmilla leaves small kisses trailing up my neck and along my jaw. It tickles. "God, you're so cute," Carmilla gushes, pulling back slightly to stare at me and tuck a stray strand of hair behind my ear.
A warmth begins to spread across my cheeks as I grin ear to ear. I quickly grab onto the hand resting on my ear and pull Carmilla's head toward me with my other hand, connecting our mouths together once again. We stay like this for a minute, standing in the grass underneath the stars and enjoying the feel of each other's warm lips on this cool night.
That is, until an obnoxious and obviously fake cough comes from behind me, causing me to reluctantly release my dorky vampire girlfriend and turn to see Perry and LaF standing there nervously.
"UGH, what the frilly hell," Carmilla suddenly complains, waving her arms dramatically. "Even when there's no room to barge into, we still get interrupted." She folds her arms against her chest, clearly annoyed that our mini make-out session had come to a stop. She looks so adorable like this, with her dark curls all tousled and her lipstick slightly smudged. Carmilla glares at the culprit, Perry, who, twiddling her thumbs, just hmphs in response and begins wandering ahead.
"Umm, wow, I am so sorry. Please forgive us," LaFontaine all but begs. "Little Miss 'Safety First' here is just way too anxious to get to some shelter. Something about brainwashed Angler Fish minions and slaphappy Zetas."
LaF awkwardly clasps her hands behind her back and looks to the side before hurrying to catch up with Perry. I start to snicker at both of their behaviors, but I quickly stop upon also falling victim to Carmilla's glare.
"Ohh, come on, Grumpy McSweets," I tease, grabbing her arms and unfolding them. "You'll survive. There's always more where that came from," I wiggle my eyebrows at Carmilla again and thankfully, she relaxes a little and hesitantly returns a gentle smirk.
"Much better. Now, let's go. God knows where those two are heading. Lead the way, girlfriend!" I encourage, pulling Carmilla's right arm to wrap around my shoulders.
Carmilla sighs dramatically. She wraps her arm around me even tighter and takes my nearest hand in her own, leading us off of the lawn and onto a sidewalk. I lean my head back down onto her shoulder, thinking about how cute it is that she tries so hard to maintain her badass facade.
"The things I do for you, cupcake."
I guess my junk food diet finally caught up with me because I started to feel super exhausted after walking for a while. And it also didn't help that wearing Carmilla's leather jacket and having her arm around my shoulders kept me so warm that I started nodding off. But to be fair, the only things that we could find to eat while we were on the run were vending machine snacks and gingerbread cookies and if Carm hadn't lent me her jacket, I probably would've frozen to death.
My eyes almost popped out of their sockets when Carmilla nudged me out of my daze and told me we had arrived. I was half-expecting her to lead us to some sort of old bunker hidden safely underground, definitely not a huge mansion. I'm surprised none of us had ever seen the building before, considering its overwhelming size.
Upon entering, Perry and LaFontaine began running around and exploring the entire building like children at a brand new playground. I had turned to say something to Carmilla only to be met with a small burst of wind and the sound of combat boots skidding rapidly across the fancy flooring. Chuckling to myself (and feeling slightly disappointed), I proceeded into the building and began looking around by myself. The mansion undoubtedly had a gothic/Victorian look to it; the walls and carpets were tinged with various reds and purples and golds and it seemed that every entrance to every room was a very grand one. All of the furniture and decorations were painted in luxury, dating back a few centuries. It was almost as if I was walking through a museum or one of those "historical houses".
When I wandered into what was presumably the kitchen, I giggled upon seeing Carmilla sprawled out in the middle of the floor surrounded by empty blood bags. It was almost as if she already knew that there was blood stored in the fridge. I guess there really are vampires all over Silas. Carmilla had gotten to her feet at an alarming speed, grinning guiltily and hastily wiping at the blood that had strayed from her mouth. I assured her that there was nothing to feel embarrassed about. I mean, Carmilla is to blood as Laura is to cookies, right? Anyways, after that happened, I left Carmilla alone to enjoy the rest of her well sought-after meal and went to go linger in the living room.
"Hey, Laur, I think I found the master bedroom if you wanna head to sleep already. You seem really tired," Carmilla says as she emerges from the bottom of the stairway. A smile slowly appears on her face as she pauses and sees me sitting on the sleeper in the living room. Lost in thought, I continue looking straight ahead with no response. Probably noticing my slight gloominess, Carmilla goes to sit beside me, resting one of her hands on the small of my back and the other on the side of my face.
"Hey, sweetheart. Are you okay?" she asks in that caring and languid voice that I have come to love and find comfort in.
I stay silent, looking into her eyes and finding peace in the adoration stored there as Carmilla gently leans in. My senses seem to wake up when her lips make contact with my forehead. The feel of her thumb brushing over my cheekbone breaks me out of my slight dysphoria and I lean into Carmilla's gentle touch, closing my eyes and turning my head slightly to kiss her palm.
"I'm okay. It's just that... coming back to Silas seems to have more of an effect on me than I thought." I open my eyes to look into hers. "I mean, as soon as we set foot on campus, I could just feel all the stress washing over me again. All the memories of girls mysteriously disappearing and gigantic spore-shooting mushrooms turning students into zombies and giant pits of doom opening up in the middle of the quad and angry, evil, all-powerful mothers possessing me and..."
Carmilla scratches softly up and down my lower back in comfort and watches me intently as I continue rambling on about past occurrences.
"And then... there's the memory of almost losing you," I say softly, my voice unexpectedly choked back by a forlornness that I thought had long disappeared. "When I thought you were dead, I—I didn't know what to do. I—"
Carmilla pulls me into her arms as soon as she sees a tear threatening to fall from my eyes. I wrap my arms tightly around her neck as a few quiet tears spill onto her collarbone.
"Aw, cupcake." Carmilla coos, resting her chin on top of my head as she gently strokes my hair. "I know that this past year has been riddled with catastrophe, but I want you to know that never in my entire 300-year existence have I come to know and love a human who is as strong and capable of such amazing things as you are. I am so proud of you, Laura, and everything that you've done for this school, for your friends, and for me. And I'm here now, okay?" she says, rubbing my back as I tighten my hold on her. "I am right here. And no matter what, I'll always be here to look after you."
Overwhelmed with feelings, I stay still for a few minutes, enjoying this softer side of Carmilla that only I get to see. Having calmed down upon listening to her words of comfort, I lift my head off of Carmilla's shoulder and give a shy smile, sniffing a little bit.
"Thanks, Carm," I say softly. "And you'll always be my vampire knight in shining leather pants."
I let out a few puffs of air, amused at my own joke. I don't have to glance up at Carmilla to know that she's probably rolling her eyes. Carmilla snorts lightly, unwrapping her hands from around me, but leaving them to rest under my forearms just before my elbows.
"You know, I find it so curious yet strangely endearing how you never cease to make jokes, even in the direst of situations. Now, come on, creampuff," Carmilla says as she slides her fingers up my arm and intertwines them with my own. "I'll show you the bedroom."
And with that, Carmilla turns around and tugs on my hands before suddenly pulling me onto her back and running up the stairs at vampiric speed. The entire time, I laugh and scream like a little girl while burying my face into a pale neck and holding onto my girlfriend tightly.
"Hey, Carm, is this mine or yours?" I ask Carmilla as I bend over to pick up a pink lace bra off of the floor and dangle it on my finger.
I look over my shoulder to see Carmilla lying on her stomach in our swish new king-sized bed, vacantly staring. Those dark eyes of hers immediately flick up to meet mine as soon as I'm facing her direction. I smirk, having caught her lingering eyes.
I'm currently stood at the dresser sorting through our backpacks, which we kinda just stuffed both of our clothes into at the last second. It had been kind of difficult to organize and alphabetize what with all the angry villagers and protesters chasing after us with pitchforks, but then again, right now I'm not exactly making any less of a mess with all of these clothes haphazardly strewn across the floor.
"Yours. I don't wear pink," she replies matter-of-factly, still in her daze, her chin resting on her hand.
"Right… but you do wear bright red lace underwear," I tease, turning my back to her and sticking my tongue out at her through the mirror.
"Mmhmm..." I hear Carmilla dismiss before I go back to my sorting. Until now, I didn't even realize how many button-down shirts I own, dark blue and white ones especially. But my button-downs are nothing compared to some of the stuff that Carmilla has. Like, Jesus, how many leather jackets does this woman own? It's weird how we had to pack so quickly and yet she still had time to pack all of these jackets.
Hah, and she thought that I was crazy for bringing my TARDIS mug with me. Nerd.
As I'm picking some more clothes off the floor and putting them on top of the dresser, I'm suddenly met with a sweet, familiar scent followed by two strong arms snaking their way around my waist from behind. I didn't even notice Carmilla leave the bed. Oh, wait, I forgot. Vampire speed. Carmilla presses her front against me and kisses the back of my neck before nestling her nose into my shoulder, releasing a contented sigh and a gentle purr-like noise. I smile at how cuddly she really is, even though she always denies it.
"Cupcake, won't you... hurry it up a little?" Carmilla husks, her breath tickling the back of my ear. "I'm starting to get restless without my snuggles," she says in a slightly higher voice. It almost sounded like... whining. Too precious.
"Oh, alright," I easily give in, turning around in Carmilla's arms to face her. "I suppose I could just sort this mess out tomorrow," I drag out, quickly pecking Carmilla on the cheek and squealing, pulling her towards the bed.
We cuddle up on the bed for what feels like an eternity and I find myself longing for the idea of spending many more eternities with Carmilla. Like I had promised Carmilla earlier, we had both changed into our pajamas and I had turned on the fireplace so conveniently placed in our room. Now, everything is perfect.
At the moment, I have Carmilla trapped underneath my arms and her head is resting on my chest as she reads aloud to me. As I let my fingers wander up and down her ribcage, I watch Carmilla from above while she recites some of her favorite quotes. I watch as soft lips part smoothly to enunciate every word. As long fingers trail along the jagged edges of each page to uncover new meanings on the next. She looks stunning regardless of if she's wearing her signature leather or she's dressed down. Her perfect dark curls cascade over the faded red SU sweater of mine that she's wearing and her black boy shorts do nothing to hide her smooth legs. Everything she is and everything she does is truly captivating and I still can't believe that she's mine.
Carmilla must have sensed my sudden disinterest in her novel because the next thing I know, she's leaning over me, the book carelessly discarded on the nightstand. Her curly hair hangs down over me and her breaths come in small puffs, tickling my collarbone. Unable to withstand our close (but not close enough) proximity, I lean up to close the short distance between our lips. It's a pretty quick kiss, but still enough to leave us both with closed eyes and butterflies.
"Alright, sweetheart, considering that vacant stare that you were sporting just a second ago, I think we've reached our quota of intricate philosophic garbage for this evening," Carmilla says playfully as she moves to sit up on my lower stomach and begins running one of her hands through my hair. "Now, if I do recall, I owe you a mini movie night?"
Entranced, I reach for both of Carmilla's hands and lace my fingers into hers. My muscles complain slightly as I lean up and steal a quick kiss on the tip of her nose, causing Carmilla to scrunch her face up in feigned protest before quickly letting it fade. Sighing contentedly, I close my eyes and relax into the pillow behind me. Carmilla follows as she rests her body over mine, setting her head down on my shoulder, our fingers still intertwined.
"It's okay, Carm, we can have our movie night another time. I'm kinda tired anyway. Maybe we can just lie here for a while," I tell her.
"As you wish, Ms. Hollis," Carmilla replies before briefly detaching herself from me and using her super strength and speed to pick me up and flip us over. I giggle and land on the bed with an oof.
Carmilla reaches over to pull the covers up to our hips before laying back down and allowing me to snuggle into her side. I snake my arm across her stomach, lightly stroking the taut muscles underneath her (well, actually, my) sweater. Her arms come to rest on my lower back and my elbow and her lips press against my temple as we both enjoy the comfort of being back at Silas.
"Hey, Carm?"
My girlfriend hums in response. I turn to look up at her and find her eyes closed.
"Thanks for always being here for me."
A slight pause. Carmilla's eyes remain closed and for a second, I think that maybe she's fallen asleep. That is, until she stirs and opens her mouth to say something. I should have known that she hadn't fallen asleep; the sun wasn't even up yet. Duh.
"Anytime, cupcake," she says with an airy yet smooth voice, her eyes still closed. "You know that. I promised that I would always protect you."
Lost for words, I pour my thoughts and feelings into a kiss on her cheek before snuggling back into Carmilla's chest. Her lips curve into a smile upon feeling my lips against her skin.
"Hey, Carm?"
"Okay, what now, cupcake?" Carmilla says, acting slightly ill-tempered in response to my inability to shut my mouth.
"What's your favorite TV show?"
Carmilla opens her eyes only to roll them at me and she lets out a playful sigh.
"Definitely not Doctor Who."
"Oh, shut up," I tease, lifting my head and playfully slapping her bicep. "I'll get you to like it one of these days."
"You can try, cutie, but it could take centuries," Carmilla responds with an attitude, as if she knows she's already won.
"So be it," I challenge, quirking an eyebrow at her. "I'm not going anywhere."
All exhaustion and fatigue forgotten, Carmilla and I end up talking to each other for hours into the night. We lounge around in our pajamas in conversation until our otherwise dark room is met with the warm colors of the rising sun. It's only when we hear birds chirping outside the window and gruff voices in the kitchen that we begin to fall asleep, still wrapped around each other in peaceful content.
A/N: Thank you guys so much for reading and please make sure to leave me some feedback! I wanna know if you liked it, loved it, or hated it so much that you gave up reading fanfiction altogether. LET ME KNOW!
Until next time!
-Andy
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