Some of you will love me, some of you will hate me.
We learn Carmilla's past (which is pretty angsty) and a few snippets of Laura's. We also get fluff! Yay fluff!
There are lots of great things that Carmilla has woken up to. She's woken up to birthday cake, kittens, coffee, breakfast, and lots of generally awesome things. But waking up to Laura snuggled into her is probably the best thing she's even woken up to.
The blonde's face was buried in Carmilla's neck, soft puffs of air ghosting along the brunette's skin. Her arms were wrapped firmly around Carmilla's torso and her legs were hooked around her waist. She clung to Carmilla for dear life and it would be even cuter if the blonde wasn't whimpering out "no" and "please no". Not to mention the fact that her head felt awful and she was sure this was one of the worst hangovers she's ever had.
"Laura," Carmilla used her firm hold on the blonde's hips to shake her gently. "Laura, wake up."
"I- no, you- swim!" Laura shuddered and let out a soft gasp. "Please, you have to..."
"Laura, Laura, Laura," Carmilla shook her harder, now. "Come on, wake up. Please. It's okay. You're safe."
The smaller girl suddenly gasped and shot up. Her wide eyes looked around frantically before settling on Carmilla.
"I- I'm so sorry, I was- I-" Laura sputtered before taking a deep breath. "I-I have these night terrors sometimes, and... sorry."
She was shaking, so Carmilla wrapped her arms around the smaller girl.
"Cupcake, stop apologizing for shit that's out of your control," Carmilla murmured into blonde hair. She glanced at the clock. 8:30. God, she needed to go back to sleep. "Do you want to talk about it?"
"No, thank you... I'm just... I'm so tired." Laura admitted with a yawn. "Do you mind if we...?"
"Go back to sleep? That's a wonderful idea, darling." Carmilla laid back down.
"No, I meant... can you like," Laura motioned hugging with her hands and at first Carmilla was kind of confused. At last, the frustrated blonde just muttered, "snuggle?"
"Oh, yeah, uh, sure." Carmilla turned on her side, facing Laura. The other girl faced away from Carmilla and pressed her back into the brunette's chest.
Arms snaked around Laura's waist and gentle lips placed a soft kiss just beneath her ear.
"Goodnight, cupcake." Carmilla whispered.
Laura closed her eyes and, yeah, this was really, really great.
When Carmilla woke (again) she instantly felt sick and made a hasty trip to the bathroom, not even noticing the cold sheets beside her. When she was better, she took a Tylenol and gulped down a glass of water, tip-toeing into the kitchen.
"Morning, sunshine!" A bright voice piped up.
It was then Carmilla noticed the scent of bacon wafting through her apartment. And were those pancakes she smelled?
Her eyes settled on Laura in a goddamn frilly apron cooking at her stove. This was almost entirely too domestic, but the cuteness overpowered the altogether couple-y feel to the whole situation.
The blonde was, indeed, making what looked like bacon and tofu bacon (Laura was a vegetarian, but she claimed she'd 'risk a pig for Carmilla'). Pancakes were put on a plate beside the stove, the steam rising up from them making Carmilla almost drool.
"What... what's all this?" Carmilla asked when her voice decided to work.
"Well, I figured you'd be hungry and I woke up before you, so I thought, why not? Is that okay?" Laura frowned, suddenly worried.
"It's more than okay," Carmilla moved to Laura's side, wrapping her arms around the blonde's waist. "Thank you."
Laura bit back a grin and turned back to the cooking food. "Go sit down, it'll be ready in a few minutes."
Carmilla did as she was told and settled on one of the bar stools beside the island counter, her arms resting on the cool wood.
Distance yourself, Karnstein, her mind screamed at her. Don't repeat history. This is dangerous. For her, and for you.
But, something else in her kind of told her mind to shut the fuck up and just let Laura in already.
She wasn't sure who to trust more.
A plate of food was placed in front of her and she smiled gratefully at Laura.
"You're absolutely amazing," she sighed, taking a bite of bacon. She hummed. "Okay, tell me you're going to college to be a chef."
"Nope, a journalist." Laura swallowed a mouthful of pancake. "My dad's a cop, he was always super busy. He used to talk about how great of a cook my mom was and how much he missed coming home to one of her good meals, so I learned how to cook so he wouldn't feel so sad when he got home."
"What happened to her? Your mom, I mean."
"She died when I was eight. Aneurism."
"Do you miss her?" The instant it came out, Carmilla winced. That was a dumb question. Not everyone has a psychotic soul-crushing mother.
"Yeah," Laura nodded. "A lot, actually. She was my best friend. We did everything together. She always said I was her little miracle, because she wasn't really expected to be able to have kids. She used to read me stories, and she helped me get into journalism. She was a journalist, too. She gave me my passion for seeking out the truth. She used to say 'Find something that makes you happy, and never let go'." The blonde smiled sadly. "She was the best. She would have loved you."
Carmilla chuckled. "She sounds pretty great. I wish my mother was like that."
"You don't like her?"
Carmilla snorted. "No."
"Why?"
"It's... a long story." Carmilla looked at her already half-empty plate.
"I've got time."
A sigh. "Alright, then. Buckle up creampuff. You're in for a long night. Or, you know, Saturday afternoon.
"When I was in my freshman year at high school, I met this girl. Her name was Ell. We kind of hit it off right away. She was... annoyingly cheerful, in a good way, like you. Optimistic, kind, always saw the good in people." A small smile grew on Carmilla's face. "I fell for her. Hard. And, unlike any relationship I'd had prior, nothing was a lie between us.
"We dated in secret up until junior year, when I came out to my mother. She didn't... really take it too kindly. She forbid me from ever seeing Ell. And, being the rebellious teenager that I was, I ignored her blatantly and told her to fuck off out of my love life.
"But, of course, she went to Ell behind my back. Told her that I was just using her to spite mother. Of course, Ell denied it all at first. But my mother is a very persuasive person. She told Ell that I was horrible. That I was cheating. That I was... just an emotionless monster incapable of love. Soon enough, Ell came around. She started ignoring my calls, canceling dates... I should have... god, I should have known." Carmilla shook her head and closed her eyes. A soft hand on her thigh encouraged her to go on.
"I invited Ell over to talk about what was going on. At that point, I knew what mother had done, so I wanted to clear everything up. As soon as I met her at the door, Ell screamed at me, called me a liar, a cheater, a monster..." Carmilla winced at the memory. She could still hear Ell's voice snarling at her. "It was obvious she had been drinking, which was unusual for her. God, I'm such an idiot for not even noticing it, then. She stormed off and I begged her to stay. I really, really tried. I told her I loved her. I- I wish I had-" Carmilla's throat clenched and her voice cracked. "The phone call from her mom was... it was so... it was horrible. She told me that it was my fault for breaking Ell's heart... told me I was to blame for her death. And I guess..." Carmilla sniffled as a tear escaped her eye. "I guess she was right."
A long silence filled the space between them before Laura launched herself at Carmilla and wrapped her arms around the brunette.
"Carm, it's- that's not your fault. It's your mom's. I can't believe she'd do that to you. That's horrible." The blonde pulled away to look into the other girl's dark, tear-filled eyes. "You're not a monster. You're amazing, and sweet, and beautiful, and so smart, and so kind, and-" she blushed, stopping herself. "I guess I'm rambling."
Carmilla smiled, despite the sob that escaped her.
Laura kissed Carmilla's forehead gently and held the brunette until she stopped crying.
"God, I've barely known you for over two weeks and I've already cried on you three times. This is getting ridiculous."
"What you call 'ridiculous' I call bonding." Laura chuckled. "Besides, it's nice to know you trust me. Trust is important."
"Careful, cupcake, you make it sound like we're an item."
"Aren't we?"
Wait, did she cross the line?
It kind of seems like she crossed a line.
Carmilla froze for a moment. She pulled her bottom lip into her mouth.
Yeah, maybe she crossed a line. Smooth, Hollis, smooth. But it was important to understand what the heck she and Carmilla were, right? Right.
So... what were they?
Don't worry, don't worry. I might update earlier than usual because of snowstorms down here. I haven't had school for 2 days in a row. That being said, does anyone wanna build a snowman?
OH: Also, eventually this will have smut. So like. Just saying.