Carmilla

Your mother didn't come back after the lunch with her and Ell and Laf didn't have to call the police, as she ended up leaving shortly after you entered the house and showed no signs of coming back out. You couldn't have been happier, but you also didn't risk being too excited though, you knew she wouldn't let up that easily.

Your fears proved to be certain when Mattie showed up at the Hostel with an apologetic smile and the excuse of mother sending her. She said she'd make something up to tell mother, something like you had already fled by the time she got there, were long gone, in another state probably, possibly another country altogether. She said she wanted to help you, that she was working her way out of mother's grasp as well. She had papers for an apartment lease not too far from where you were currently and told you it would be paid for out of an account mother didn't know about. She also mentioned you quitting your job and going for an interview with one of her good friends in the area that had no ties to mother. Apparently, it was for a job translating old documents from French into English and it honestly sounded appealing, but you liked your job at the bookstore. She suggested doing it on the side and freelance.

You told her you'd think about it, but really, your mind went straight to Laura.

You couldn't imagine living a 40 minute walk away from her. Especially now.

Ever since things between you and Laura were cleared up, Laura's been endearingly annoying, if not a bit aggressive (but lovingly aggressive?).

Endearing, because you literally couldn't get enough. You found it cute, how much she seemed to want to be in your presence, as if the time you spent apart was entirely too much for her to handle. You didn't mind, because you felt the same way.

The two of you decided not to put a label on anything yet to see where the whole situation goes, but you've basically been in a honeymoon period for the past three weeks. She hasn't left your side unless she's working, you're working, or either of you are using the bathroom. And even then it's a tossup as to whether or not she follows you. And you don't mind the newfound closeness. You honestly didn't even realize she was doing it until Laf commented about the two of you being tethered together by an invisible cord.

Laura got offended, of course, scoffed, and tried to prove it wasn't true by going to make hot chocolate for herself in the kitchen. You got up less than a minute later to help her and only noticed you had when you were about to take a sip from her mug and her arms were wrapped around your stomach, under your sweatshirt, her hands splayed out across your lower back. She seemed to notice it then too and muttered a single 'fuck' before removing herself from you and taking her mug from your hands and heading back to the living room with a pout where Laf was just sitting and watching the two of you with an obnoxious smirk on their face.

After that, Laura made a conscious effort to touch you only a "respectable" amount of times throughout the day. She lasted maybe two hours before she unceremoniously plopped herself in your lap with a defeated look and a huff. You were trying to read on the couch while Laf was watching some science documentary on Netflix and when Laf went to further confirm their previous statement, Laura cut them off with an outburst of, "I just want to fucking hold her hand!"

You managed to suppress your laughter by burying your face in Laura's neck. Laf wasn't so lucky. At least they tried to show their surrender by raising their hands, palms out, and stating that they were glad the two of you finally got your shit together.

You couldn't disagree.

Then they opened their mouth again,

"I should also probably mention that you were literally laying with your head under Carmilla's shirt last night when we watched Monty Python and the Holy Grail. And you can't even use the excuse that you were scared because that is the farthest thing from a horror movie that I have ever seen. And the day before that you were-"

You could only laugh at the complete look of horror on Laura's face as she tried to stammer out a rebuttal before Laf commented anymore. Laf was right though. Laura was doing everything in her power to be as close to you as physically possible. Even if that meant surpassing your clothing so she could feel your skin against hers (you weren't complaining, if only because she was basically a portable human heater).

When Laura couldn't come up with a response, you hooked your arm around her neck brought her to your chest, hugging her head and smothering her affectionately.

"You're just jealous."

Laf only rolled their eyes and refocused their attention back to the television.

"Whatever. You two are fucking weird."

That night, Laura slept in her own bed.

You tossed and turned for an hour before losing the battle and trudging through your shared bathroom and into her room. She was awake.

You only mumbled, " This was a fucking stupid idea " before you climbed into bed with her. She made it a point to acknowledge the fact that she lasted longer than you before your head found her chest and her hand tangled itself into your hair. You could feel her smile as she pressed a kiss to the crown of your head.

You fell asleep the second you closed your eyes, to the sound of her heartbeat in your ears.

The following morning, she brought you breakfast in bed when you woke up late and even managed to call the bookstore. You didn't bother asking what she told your boss, you were thankful you didn't have to rush to get ready.

You made sure to thank her - after you finished your breakfast, of course - with a few rounds in between her legs and didn't so much as flinch when someone happened to bang on the door more than once when Laura got a little too loud. You only laughed and made sure she screamed your name even louder the next time.

When you were satisfied that she couldn't move, and just as she was on the verge of sleep, you fiddled with the bedspread and mentioned the apartment Mattie proposed. You had less than 48 hours to sign the papers and get them back to her if you truly wanted it. Laura's opinion was your deciding factor. And before you could stop yourself, you asked her if maybe she would want to come with you.

You wanted to backtrack the conversation entirely the second the words were out of your mouth, but you forced yourself to hold firm and watched a series of emotions flit across Laura's face as her mouth gaped open and closed more than a few times.

When she didn't answer right away, you tried to reason that there were two bedrooms (even knowing full well that the two of you would only be using one) and that she wouldn't have to worry about rent or a long commute to work on her bike because there was a streetcar right near the building.

She didn't say anything for a long while and you had about six heart attacks, you're sure, before she finally said a simple,'okay .'

And then she started rambling about conditions and paying her half of the rent anyway and paying for half the groceries and actually putting her stuff in the spare bedroom even if she never used it, but you barely heard her because she agreed to move in with you. As... whatever you two were ...but she agreed nonetheless.

You put both of your names on the lease and signed the dotted lines and you faxed the documents over to Mattie that evening (because of course Perry had a fax machine in her office) and then Laura called her dad and said her thanks to you until the early hours of the morning after.

Laura

So, you're moving in with Carmilla.

Which shouldn't be a big deal, because you already live together and share a bathroom and Carmilla hasn't slept in her own bed in basically a month. But still.

You're moving in with Carmilla.

When you called your dad, you were terrified he was going to shut the whole thing down immediately (and only slightly - tremendously - terrified that you were actually doing this, because calling him made it official ), but as it turned out, he was ecstatic about the news (as much as a parent could be when his only daughter was moving in with her not-girlfriend/best friend/love of her life/fuck buddy) and he managed to calm you down. You never ended up telling him about what happened between you and Carmilla that night in the tent (or the entire trip for that matter) and blamed the awkward drive home on the two of you being exhausted (which you were, so it wasn't a complete lie, but not because of the reason he thought). You didn't tell him Mattie was willing to pay for the apartment either, as long as it meant Carmilla was safe from her mother, she said she was happy to even if you weren't so happy about that small detail. You also didn't tell him how you'd have to take the streetcar to work, because you're sure he'd hire a driver just so you didn't have to step foot on public transportation. You could hear his rebuttal almost perfectly in your head (which slightly concerned you), "Laura, the death tollon public transportation has risen something like 7% this year alone!" You chose not to acknowledge the fact that it was almost double that for cyclists in LA traffic. Which only led to you not telling him where the apartment was and not bothering to show him the pictures Carmilla sent you because then he'd definitely know it cost more than the two of you could afford.

You didn't really want to know how Mattie could even afford it. Carmilla said something about a secret bank account, but where was that money coming from, if their mother didn't know about it? Didn't Mattie work for their mother?

Either way, you and Carmilla were moving in together. Into your own apartment. That the two of you shared. Together.

You'll admit, it seems a bit soon to be thinking about moving in with each other, but it wouldn't be all that different. Just maybe, less interruptions from literally everyone in the house. And you heard in good faith that the previous owner was a musician and had the whole place soundproofed, ceiling to floor in every room, which only further persuaded your decision (and made you slightly question the actual reason for soundproofing the entire apartment…like, you could only think of one reason a bathroom needed to be soundproofed and it wasn't because you might want to play your electric guitar while taking a shit, but whatever).

You were taking the next step with Carmilla.

And for once in your life you felt like it was actually something that you were meant to do (after a slight panic attack, of course).

Like you were supposed to do this with Carmilla . That you met for a reason , the two of you found each other and you fell in love with each other for a reason .

Even if you didn't know for sure what that reason was yet. Even if it was as simple a reason as you overcoming whatever part of your brain seized and malfunctioned every time you heard the word "love". Even if it only meant you finding your voice enough to finally tell her.

You'd take it.

Because now she knows.

Unsurprisingly, the two of you got the apartment right away. Mattie pulled some strings and set things in motion, using the excuse of getting Carmilla out of that 'surprisingly clean, but dreadfully ancient deathtrap of a mansion, filled with too many gingers and not enough wine'. Secretly though, you knew Mattie enjoyed their company and she was only getting Carmilla out of there because she was scared their mother might come back and forcefully take Carmilla with her back to Hell, or wherever she came from (you were pretty sure it was Hell, though).

You weren't going to point out the fear and concern you saw in Mattie's eyes when she handed over the keys.

Mattie surprisingly helped the two of you move what little possessions the two of you had into the apartment that weekend, claiming she had nothing better to do, but the amount of time she spent on her phone, told you otherwise. You were thankful nonetheless. She even forced Will and Kirsch to help, even if the most they did was provide a six pack of beer as an "apartment-warming gift" (which they ended up drinking) and carrying a queen sized mattress up several flights of stairs. You enjoyed their company though, if nothing else, and after Mattie left, the four of you had an uneventful evening of sitting in the middle of your empty living room floor, surrounded by unopened ikea boxes and Carmilla's books, while you all played Never Have I Ever and shared a few laughs.

Kirsch and Will left late in the afternoon on Sunday, after attempting, and failing, to put together a slew of IKEA furniture, leaving it in the hands of you and Carmilla. You didn't mind though, even after it all went to shit.

You figured out a lot of things about Carmilla that evening. The most prominent being, she could not for the life of her use power tools (or follow instructions, or aim a hammer, or swallow her pride long enough to admit any of this). You loved her, you did, but she proved to be more useless than the instructions for the end table she was trying to put together.

One that barely required instructions at all, for that matter.

The desk and dresser were another thing altogether, but the end table ? You managed to put yours together in less than an hour, without the instructions. It took Carmilla two hours to discover she was trying to read the instructions upside down. When you relayed this information to her, she instantly looked like she was ready to burst into tears.

You called it a night after that and took her to bed on your shared mattress in the middle of your bedroom floor and told her she was good at other stereotypical lesbian things, like scaring children and wearing flannel incredibly well.

That elicited a belly laugh from her and after hearing how genuine it sounded and how happy she was, you couldn't fathom why you ever pushed her away.