Carmilla Karnstein was grinning from ear to ear as she sat across from Laura Hollis in the diner just opposite her favourite park. She'd met the brunette numerous times - seemingly by fate - over the space of a month, be it in line at the supermarket or filling the car up with gas. After the first couple of times, they'd smile sheepishly at each other and wave an awkward hello/goodbye. The last time Carmilla saw Laura, they were standing at the movie theatre.
Carmilla was with her brother Will, who was buying the tickets whilst she waited, gazing up at a movie poster on the wall. She wasn't in the best mood with him, due to the fact he had been on at her all that day, about how she wasn't getting any younger and how she doesn't put herself out there, that was when Laura came to stand beside her, literally out of nowhere.
"We've got to stop meeting like this." the small brunette had joked, turning to look up at her, a shy smile on her face.
Carmilla had been left momentarily speechless at the sight of her.
"Hey." was all she had managed to choke out.
"What brings you to the movies?" she'd asked and Carmilla had chanced a glance over at her brother, he was still in the queue to buy tickets.
"It's a Saturday night, you wouldn't find me anywhere else." she added, ignoring the fact her palms had started to sweat.
Laura had nodded thoughtfully. "So, you're here often?" she asked, nerves creeping into her tone.
"Mhm." Carmilla had said. Noticing William was making his way toward her again, she blurted out what was running through her mind before she could even filter and compose herself.
"Do you want to go out tomorrow night? I'll meet you outside here and we can go from there." she said, her eyes widening as soon as the words left her mouth.
"See you tomorrow." Laura had bit her lip to stifle a grin and walked over to her friends who had bought tickets and made their way over to her.
"Who was that?" Will had asked her.
"I'll find out tomorrow night." she'd smirked at his slack-jawed expression, before taking a handful of his popcorn, tossing a kernel in the air and catching it in her mouth.
"C'mon, we don't want to miss the movie." she'd teased and he'd followed silently behind her.
—
As planned, they'd met outside the movie theatre and made their way to where Carmilla had originally made reservations at. It was a posh restaurant, as it was their first date and she wanted to make a good impression, but the guy at the restaurant had told them when they'd turned up, that their table had been double booked and there was a three hour wait. Carmilla was livid but quickly soothed by Laura, when she held Carm's hand and whispered in her ear that 'this place is overrated, anyway', causing Carm's heart to race wildly in her chest as Laura shot her a brilliant smile.
"What's the worst pick-up line anyone's ever used on you?" Laura asked grinning as she munched on another fry.
Carmilla took a sip from her straw of their shared milkshake and make a face that showed she was deep in thought, really wracking her brain only for the reaction it elicited from the tiny brunette.
Laura's giggle was Carmilla's favourite sound in the world. In the short space of time that she'd the girl, she was starting to seriously question whether or not she even needed oxygen to breathe, or whether Laura's laugh alone was enough to sustain her existence entirely.
Carmilla couldn't help the shit-eating grin that spread across her face from being able to make her laugh this way. She pointed Laura's straw towards the girl, raising a brow with a challenge in her eyes just daring her to take it.
Much to Carmilla's surprise though, Laura leant across the table slowly, a shy smile quirking her lips as she reached for the straw.
Carm's heart very nearly stopped in her chest when she saw the tip of Laura's tongue dart out and in one swift movement, capture it between her teeth, winking up at Carmilla playfully.
Carmilla had to take a steadying breath to control her heart rate. 'You're killin' me, Hollis.' she thought to herself before clearing her throat.
"I did have this one guy use this line on me once. He was asking me to the Halloween dance at our school and he said… are you ready?" she asked, scrunching her nose up, cringing.
Laura nodded enthusiastically, giggling at Carm's expression.
"He said, hey Carmilla… I don't have a halloween costume, y'know for the dance, but can I go as your boyfriend instead?" she imitated the guy, shuddering at the still-mortifying-to-this-day, moment from years ago.
Laura's eyes widened comically as she covered her mouth, half laughing and half choking on the milkshake.
Carmilla just stared at her in awe, This girl opposite her was worming her way into her heart and she found that surprisingly, she wouldn't have it any other way.
Laura looked away suddenly and Carm's brow creased with concern. The brunette's eyes were beginning to water as she coughed, and there was some milkshake dripping out of her nose.
Carmilla plucked two tissues from the napkin box beside her, before leaning across the table. She tentatively reached out and tilted Laura's face back towards her. She wiped the milkshake from just beneath her nose, and used the other to catch the unbidden tear falling down her cheek.
Laura's eyes were trained on Carmilla. Her face bright red with embarrassment.
Carm's thumb caressed Laura's cheek gently before she sat back in her seat. The reality of what she'd just done sank in a second later and her stomach twisted uncomfortably as panic began to set in. A blush crept onto her face as she sat still, suddenly very interested in the back of her hand.
She couldn't hide the slight frown on her face as she panicked internally about whether or not she'd crossed a line.
Their waitress came to the table asking if they needed anything else, but Carmilla was too distracted, still mentally berating herself, that she'd stayed silent and completely ignore the question. Laura was the one who answered though, asking for the bill with the slightest sound of disappointment in her voice which gained Carmilla's attention.
When the waitress returned with the bill, Carm took it out of the woman's hands before Laura had even blinked. She paid and left a generous tip before mumbling an apology for her rudeness, then leant back and shrugged into her jacket.
"Ready?" she asked Laura, trying to keep her voice light.
"Mhm." she hummed, following Carmilla closely out of the diner.
They walked in silence for a few minutes before they entered the park. The sun was just beginning to set and slight breeze in the air.
Laura broke the silence first.
"You didn't have to do that y'know." she said, slowing her pace and stuffing her hands into her pockets.
Carmilla's palms began to sweat. She'd crossed the line and now Laura wanted nothing to do with her. Her heart sank at the thought, but for some reason she decided to play dumb, or even more so in her opinion.
"Hm?" she glanced over at Laura briefly.
"Pay." Laura said, her gaze on the ground. "You didn't have to pay. I was gonna get it." she said in a voice that made her sound unusually small.
This caught Carmilla's attention completely and she stopped still, reaching out for Laura's arm.
The brunette was biting her lip and her gaze was still on the ground. She looked almost ashamed? The next words flew from Carmilla's mouth before she could stop them.
"But what sort of impression would that leave you with if I wanted to see you again?" she asked, her voice gentle.
Laura's heart began to race as she looked up into dark brown eyes, showing nothing but sincerity to her words.
"You want to see me again?" she asked almost in disbelief.
Carmilla's mouth hung open as an eyebrow raised to her hairline.
"Is that an actual question?" she asked after a moment, narrowing her eyes slightly in confusion.
"Even though you've seen milkshake spill out of my nose?" Laura asked with a look of pure mortification on her face. She shivered slightly as the chill in the air picked up and she wrapped her arms around herself.
Carmilla had misread all the signs entirely. She chuckled amusedly as she slipped out of her leather jacket and stood behind Laura, holding the jacket for the brunette to wear.
Laura carefully slid her arms into the sleeves of the warm leather jacket, her brows creased with confusion at Carm's laugh as she wondered if she'd said something funny.
Carmilla spun the brunette around to face her, tucking a golden brown strand behind Laura's ear before she took a deep breath.
"Are you kidding me? Of course I want to see you again." she said, a smile curving her lips.
Her pulse stuttered as she felt Laura sway into her space.
"And again." she said and a small smile grew on Laura's face, as her cheeks tinted scarlet.
"And again." she whispered, placing a swift kiss to Laura's cold rose-coloured cheek, and in that moment Carmilla knew she'd never seen anything quite as adorable as a bashful-looking Laura Hollis.
"To be completely honest…" Carmilla said as she unwrapped her scarf from around her neck.
"I was terrified that I'd overstepped… with the napkins." her gaze was anywhere but Laura's eyes as she wrapped her scarf around the tiny brunette, tucking it into the leather jacket to keep the woman warm. She scratched the back of her head, her gaze falling to her boots on the ground as she chewed on her lip, waiting with baited breath for Laura's answer.
It was Laura's turn to laugh now. She reached out and took hold of Carmilla's gloveless hands.
"Honestly?" she asked, dipping her head slightly to catch Carmilla's eye.
Carm looked at her with an unreadable expression, but Laura's smile just grew.
"It was the sweetest thing anyone's ever done for me. I thought for sure I'd blew it but…" she stopped short when Carm huffed a small laugh, the sound making Laura's smile widen.
"What?" she asked giggling slightly herself.
Carmilla interlaced her fingers with Laura's and led them on again into the park.
"You're Laura Hollis." Carm said it as if it were the most obvious thing in the world, causing Laura to roll her eyes grinning.
"There's nothing you could do to scare me away." she said winking at Laura.
A warmth spread throughout the brunette's chest at Carm's words. No one had valued her as much as Carmilla did, and the feelings she was already beginning to have for this woman gave Laura butterflies. She tried to hide her ecstatic grin behind Carm's scarf as she muffled a content, "Good" and squeezed her hand gently.
They sat by the fountain side by side, laughing and talking for hours until the stars appeared. Carmilla led Laura by the hand to a patch of grass, so they were able to have a perfect view of the sky, and lay down to watch the stars.
Laura yawned after awhile and Carmilla knew it was time to call it a night. She held her hands out to the tired brunette to help her up. Laura smiled sleepily up at her and took her hands, getting up slowly. Carmilla offered her arm and Laura's heart stuttered at the old-fashioned action. She didn't think twice before taking it, threading her arm through Carm's and hugging closely into the woman's side, resting her head on her shoulder.
Carmilla pressed the traffic light and tapped her foot anxiously.
"Hey Laura." she said quietly.
Laura lifted her head and blinked heavily.
"Can I walk you home? I don't know… some people are weird about that, like, not wanting their date to know where they live or…" she fell silent as Laura squeezed her arm gently.
"Carm, will you please walk me home?" she asked with a sleepy smile on her lips.
The traffic lights turned green, signalling for them to cross and Carm hugged Laura's arm closer to her side.
"Of course." she said as she lead them across the road. Laura heard the smile in her voice and couldn't help but smile wider herself.
Twenty minutes later, they arrive at Laura's door. Laura was half-asleep on Carm's shoulder, looking every bit as adorable as she always did. She rang the doorbell, hoping that Laura's housemate was around and not out for the night.
Carmilla heard footsteps from inside and her heart started to race.
"Laura, I swear to god if you forget your keys one more time…" the housemate groaned as they open the door.
They stand there shocked at the sight of Laura hanging off of Carmilla's side.
"Uh… Hi." the roommate said awkwardly.
"You must be Laura's date." they say before opening the door and ushering them both inside. "I'm LaF."
"Carmilla." she introduces herself with a smile, arms cradling Laura at her side still.
The roommate shot her a knowing smile.
"Oh, I know. Laura hasn't shut up about this since last night. Or the third time she met you, in the post office? And like, every moment since." they explained, rubbing their eyes before reaching the bottom of the stairs.
"Sorry?" Carmilla huffs a quiet laugh.
"Nah, it's all good. I haven't seen her this happy in ages… or ever really." they explained, before a yawn slipped out.
"Her room is down the hall and to the right." they said before disappearing upstairs.
Laura's legs gave way and Carmilla scooped her into her arms just in time before she hit the floor.
Luckily her bedroom door was open, making it easier for her to enter the room and lay the brunette onto the bed. She slipped Laura's shoes off and then pulled the duvet up to the girl's chin.
She was just about to turn around and leave when a hand grabbed hold of her wrist.
Carmilla knelt down beside the bed and brushed the hair out of Laura's eyes.
"Don't go." she hears the brunette ask in a small voice, her lips forming a pout even though her eyes were still half shut.
Carmilla smiled at that, "I can't stay tonight. I have work tomorrow, but I can text you tomorrow once I'm finished to see if you're free?" she suggested.
"But what about your clothes?" Laura's voice was getting heavier with sleep and Carm couldn't help but laugh to herself as Laura peeked through one eye at her.
"You can give them to me tomorrow. So now you have to see me." she teased lightly, smiling when that roused a giggle from Laura.
"Of course I'd want to see you." Laura said reaching out, her hand touching Carmilla's face.
Carm pressed a kiss to Laura's knuckles, then tucked her hand back under the covers so it wouldn't get cold later in the night.
"Goodnight, Creampuff." Carmilla whispered, placing chaste kiss on Laura's forehead and smirking as a small content sigh escaped the brunette's upturned lips.
Carmilla left the apartment, locking the door from the inside behind herself, and made her way across to the other side of town.
The was half way home when the heavens opened and Carmilla found that despite her lack of a jacket to shield her from the rain, she didn't quite mind it. Why? Well because she was going to see Laura again tomorrow, and the image of a smiling sleeping Laura popped into her head, causing her heart to flutter and a permanent smile to grace her face.
—
The next day dragged on and by the time it got to lunch, Carmilla was convinced that the clock above her desk was broken, as every time she checked the time, it was getting slower.
Once Carmilla's shift was over, she clocked out not even a second later and half-raced out of the building.
She bent over, breathing deep lungfuls of air. The office had gotten so stuffy during the day, she wanted nothing more than to get out and see Laura.
Speaking of Laura, she glanced up and found the brunette leaning against the wall, scrolling on her phone.
"Laura?" she called out to her, making her way over to her. She couldn't help the involuntary smile that spread on her face or the warm feeling that built in her chest, at the sight of the beautiful brunette.
Laura met her half way, a grin on her lips as she pulled Carm in for a hug.
Carmilla wasn't a huge hugger, but after the day she'd had, she was just grateful that Laura was a hugger, very enthusiastically so.
She instinctively leant in, ignoring the increase in her heart rate as she felt Laura's smile against her neck, or her content sigh that left a trail of goosebumps across Carmilla's collarbone, or the way she pulled back to gaze up at Carm and squeeze her arm.
"Hey." she said breathlessly, causing a blush to to colour her cheeks.
"Hey, what are you doing here?" Carmilla asked and then shook her head frantically. "That's not how I meant to say that. I'm glad you're here. I'm happy to see you. How do you know where I work?" she asked, raking a hand through her hair to effectively stop her rambling.
Laura twisted her hands in front of her and her face scrunched up adorably.
"You mentioned last night that your brother worked at the library… so I went to the library and he recognised me from the movie theatre the other night talking to you." she said worrying her bottom lip between her teeth.
Carmilla raised a brow, a smirk growing on her face as she asked, "Aren't there like three libraries in this town?"
Laura's face was bright red and she scrubbed a hand over her face.
"I'm a stalker." she groaned and Carmilla laughed heartily, reaching up to take the brunette's hand away from her face.
"I'm actually impressed you went to such lengths. It must've been a pretty good first date." she teased.
"Nah, I just wanted to return your jacket and scarf. Can't live with a guilty conscience y'know?" Laura teased right back.
Carmilla just stared at her in silent awe, before clearing her throat.
"Well, what do you want to do? Dinner and movie or takeout and Netflix?" Carmilla asked, boldly taking Laura's arm and linking it through hers, as if it were the most natural thing to do, and her shoulders relaxed as she felt the brunette hug her arm closer.
"Takeout and Netflix? I just want to chill." Laura sighed exasperatedly.
"Netflix and chill, huh?" Carmilla couldn't resist teasing Laura, not when the brunette's eyes nearly fell out of her head and her face flushed scarlet.
Laura stood still and shook her head repeatedly.
"That's not what… I didn't mean… Oh god." she stumbled over her words, hiding her face against Carmilla's shoulder.
Carm let her free hand sift through Laura's hair as she laughed.
"I'm just teasing, Cupcake." she said, pressing her lips to the crown of Laura's head.
"Not cool, Karnstein." Laura frowned up at her.
Carmilla smoothed the crease in Laura's brow with her thumb, a small smile quirking her lips as Laura's eyes flutter closed briefly from the action.
"Lazy night-in it is then?" she asked, her thumb caressing Laura's cheek absentmindedly.
"Mmm, yes please." she brunette hummed smiling against Carm's shoulder again.
Carmilla huffed a quiet laugh and pressed a chat kiss to Laura's temple, savouring the feeling of the butterflies she got when Laura reached up and pressed a quick kiss to her cheek.
—
Later that evening, after a couple glasses of liquid courage, Laura finally asked Carmilla what she had been wanting to since she met her outside of work.
"Carm?" she asked, her gaze on the glass in her hands. Suddenly her palms were sweating and her face was feeling hot.
"Hm?" she hummed in response, her back turned to Laura as she attempted to gather up the empty takeout boxes on the coffee table in front of them.
When Laura didn't immediately respond, she turned around finding her deep in thought.
Carmilla placed her hand on Laura's knee and squeezed gently, the action gaining the brunette's attention.
Laura's eyes were wide for a moment, causing Carmilla to abandon the rubbish and face her fully. She raised a brow looking up at her, from her position on the floor.
"What's up?" Carmilla asked, the slight hint of worry evident in her voice despite the small smile on her lips.
The genuine care Laura found in Carm's eyes prompted her to just come out with it.
"My housemate…" she began to say.
"LaF." Carmilla nodded, sitting back on her heels.
"Right…" Laura laughed breathlessly, her gaze falling back to the glass in her hands.
Carmilla gently took the glass from Laura's grasp and placed it on the table behind her, before turning back to the brunette, dipping her head slightly to get in Laura's line of sight.
Carm's encouraging smile helped her find her voice again and she smiled shyly as a slight blush coloured her cheeks.
"Well, LaF is throwing this Halloween party at our friend Perry's house - because it's bigger than our place - and they said that I could bring someone and I was wondering if you maybe wanted to come?" she fumbled over her words and Carmilla could hardly contain the grin that spread on her face.
"Of course I'll go." she said squeezing Laura's knee again, chuckling when the brunette's face breaks into brilliant smile.
"You will?" she asks in disbelief.
Carmilla raises onto her knees so she's roughly the same height as Laura on the couch.
"If you want me there, I wouldn't miss it for the world." she says matter-of-factly.
"Of course I want you." Laura replied too quickly, adding "there" after Carmilla raised a brow and smirked up at her.
"Of course I want you there." she repeated herself, tucking hair behind her ear in a nervous tick.
Carmilla smiled, rolling her eyes as she slowly unfolded Laura's legs that were crossed in front of her.
"C'mere." she said, tilting her head and opening her arms.
Laura grinned, leaping forward and wrapped her arms around Carm's neck, giggling into the crook of it. Her legs wound themselves around Carmilla's waist, effectively making her like a koala hugging - or rather - clinging to a tree.
"There is just one thing though." Carm said, schooling her features before Laura could catch the glint of mischief in her eyes.
Laura pulled back, her hands coming to rest on Carm's shoulders, her legs still firmly wrapped around her.
"You see… I don't have a Halloween costume…" she trailed off and Laura's slow grown manifested into a giggle which she tried to hide against Carmilla's neck.
"So, I was thinking, I mean only if you're okay with it, that I'd go as your girlfriend?" she joked, using the cheesy pick-up line that was used on her years ago.
Laura's ribs ached from laughing so much and she struggled to regain her breathing.
Carmilla took pride being able to elicit such a reaction out of brunette. Laura's laugh was infectious and just beautiful.
Laura cupped Carmilla's face gently and a moment passed where they just smiled at each other.
"Only if I can go as yours." Laura whispered, breaking the silence.
Carmilla closed her eyes and released a short breath she hadn't known she'd been holding. A grin spreading on her face as she rest her forehead against Laura's.
"I would be honoured." she breathed, nudging her nose against the brunette's playfully.
Laura wrapped her arms back around Carmilla's neck and hugged her tight.
Carm laughed, rubbing her hand up and down Laura's back lightly.
She stood up, cradling Laura in her arms and surprising the brunette with her impressive upper body strength.
She turned her laptop on and wrapped a blanket around Laura's shoulders.
Laura sat in Carm's lap, snuggling closer and sighing contentedly, as they watched an episode of Orphan Black wrapped in each other arms.