Author's Note: Chapter 29 is here and it's rather long, I know the last few have been rather angsty and painful but this one is so full if fluff. Kirsch does play rugby however I'm not an expert so I've just tried to do my best from what I know about it. Anyway I hope you enjoy it!
Laura smiled over at a sleeping Carmilla.
After Laura found out Carmilla had been a lot more open, she still refused to talk about it further so instead Laura distracted her. In the past two weeks they had beaten their high scores on Mario Karts, stayed up all night to marathon Orphan Black and baked way too many cupcakes to help out Sarah's bake sale. Carmilla had been at Laura's house practically every other day, staying later before leaving with the promise to text or ring Laura to let her know that she was safe.
Last night had not been one of those nights. Carmilla had turned up at Laura's gone 11pm bag in hand and without a word Laura let Carmilla inside. Laura left Carmilla for a few minutes to get her some water from the kitchen. Laura had bumped into her mum who handed Laura some blankets with a knowing smile before telling her to pass on a 'good night' to Carmilla.
When Laura had returned 15 minutes later Carmilla was curled up with Laura's Stitch toy and her yellow pillow under her head, her eyes closed as she let sleep take over. Laura stayed awake for a while to make sure Carmilla didn't have another nightmare before letting her eyes flutter and finally sleeping. Carmilla woke up screaming at 2am, bolting from the bed until she was crouched in the corner her whole body trembling. Laura sat cradling Carmilla's shaking frame for half an hour before Carmilla allowed her to coax her back into bed, falling to sleep shortly after that.
It was now 7:30am and Laura was propped up reading yet another Harry/Draco fanfiction. She'd been awake for some time deciding to let Carmilla sleep for longer before they started getting ready for school.
Laura glanced over at her Deathly Hallows alarm clock, 8am. Putting her phone down she leant closer to Carmilla whispering her name quietly.
'Carmilla you need to wake up now'
Laura received no sign that Carmilla was awake. Instead Carmilla rolled herself further away, her hair falling her face.
'Carm come on you need to get up.' Laura leant over to gently tap Carmilla's shoulder earning a sleepy grumble in return.
'Stop pawing at me Kitty I'm trying sleep.' Laura couldn't help but laugh when she realised that Carmilla was encorporatong her actions into the dream she was having. Laura tried again this time making her voice louder as Carmilla groaned burying her face further into the yellow pillow.
'If you don't get up in the next minute I'm going to chuck a bucket of ice water over your head!'
Laura heard Carmilla incoherently mumbling into the pillow before rolling over to give Laura a glare...attempted glare but through her sleep endorsed state it just looked like she was squinting.
'You wouldn't Cupcake?!' Laura smirked as she heard Carmilla's shocked voice masked with layers of sleep as she turned her lips to a pout.
'I think we both know I would Carm.'
'and I'm getting up now...' Carmilla sprung up surveying the room before turning round to narrow her eyes at a smug looking Laura.
'There's no ice bucket! You deceiving little'
'I think the word you're looking for is genius.'
'Nooo, it's definitely not that.'
Laura rolled her eyes, playfully smacking Carmilla's arm. A second later she retracted her arm looking in horror as she shot Carmilla an apologetic smile.
'Ohhhh crap! I'm so sorry Carm, I wasn't thinking and oh god I am a terrible best friend.'
'Hey, no you're not. It's okay Laura,' Carmilla pulled Laura into a hug before continuing to reassure the blonde 'seriously Laura it's fine, I laughed sweetheart. If I was upset by what you did or you'd hurt me I would have said. I don't want you to act differently around me, you're an amazing beat friend and I don't tell you enough.'
Laura smiled softly up at Carmilla as she hugged her tighter, her smile lingering as Carmilla pulled apart kissing her forehead before grabbing her bag, heading to the bathroom to get changed. As soon as Carmilla left the room Laura fell back on the bed, lying in her own bliss, smiling to herself as she still felt the ghost of Carmilla's lips against her forehead.
'Really Cupcake, you're wearing that?!'
'It's not every day our school has an own clothes day, I want to make the most of it.'
'You couldn't make the most of it with something a little less...' Carmilla trailed off quirking her lip into a smirk as she took in Laura's appearance once more.
Laura was sporting a pair of blue cut off jeans coming just below her knees, a pair of trainer socks with different coloured cats on them and a pair of spiderman baseball boots topped with rainbow laces. Carmilla trailed her eyes up the blonde's body to see that she was wearing a white jersey with black stripes. On the front of the jersey there was the image of a large red and black snake sitting under the words 'Silas Snakes' in large red and blue letters.
Laura gave Carmilla a nervous smile as she fiddled with the hem of her jersey. Carmilla smirked moving to lift Laura's chin as she spoke.
'You look cute Laura.'
'You don't think it's stupid and cheesy?'
'I do but since when has that ever stopped you?! Question; why are you wearing our school's rugby jersey?'
'Didn't I tell you?'
'Tell me what?'
'Kirsch is playing in tonight's rugby game and I promised him that we would go. I must have forgotten to tell you...'
'You must have. Sorry Cupcake but there's no way I'm going to a rugby game to watch a bunch of sweaty lackwits fighting over a ball.'
'Please Carm, where's your sense of spirit?'
'I must have dropped it when I was doing anything else.'
'It will be fun!'
'I would rather stab myself in the eye with a pencil than sit in an overcrowded rugby stadium.'
'Rachel Duncan would argue on that one!'
'You're a dork and I'm not going when I can finish the book I'm reading.'
'You always read, Kirsch wants us to go.'
'I'm sure the Puppy can survive without my presence.'
'Fine, I want you to come with me. If you're still hating it 20 minutes in then we can leave, pleaseeeee Carm.' Laura bats her eyelashes giving Carmilla a wide smile as she intertwined their fingers like when they were little. Carmilla rolls her eyes but she can't help the small blush as Laura traces hee thumb over Carmilla's.
'Okay I'll come to the game, I'll hate every minute of it but if it will make you happy then I'll make an appearance.'
Laura squealed happily, practically jumping on Carmilla as she wrapped her arms around her, leaning into the gentle embrace and repeating a chorus of 'Thank yous'. After breaking apart Laura pulled her backpack on stuffing a jacket and her Silas Snakes cap into the bag before making her way downstairs closely followed by Carmilla.
Carmilla lounged on a sofa in the student common room, earphones in as she sketched. She had a free period and since Laura and Lafontaine were busy making crazy science in the chemistry lab, Carmilla was alone taking the perfect opportunity to finish off her latest sketch.
Suddenly a hand tapped her on the shoulder causing Carmilla to jump, her eyes wide with .fear as she swung her fist round smacking the person's face as they groaned in blinked and her eyes focused so that she could see Danny holding her nose looking incredibly annoyed.
'Woah sorry Xena I didn't know it was you, does it hurt?'
'Oh no it bloody tickles!'
'You shouldn't sneak up on people like that.'
'Well I didn't expect you to uppercut me in the face!'
'I know, I know and I'm sorry. I have a first aid kit with me' Carmilla grabbed her bag routing through it until she found her first aid kit, right at through bottom. Pulling it out she opened it rifling through to find a cloth, some gauze and a packet of plasters.
'Why do you have a first aid kit in your bag?'
'Obviously for when I punch annoying amazon redheads in the nose.'
'Oh ha ha. Seriously do you always carry a first aid kit around with you? Is it...because of your...um...your...'
'You can say the words Xena they won't bite and yes, after we left your house the other week I stayed at Laura's and she gave me her spare emergency kit. I have a can of bear spray in my bag that Mr Hollis gave me, so...'
'He gave you bear spray? What's next a wooden stake?!'
'That's back at the house.' Carmilla deadpans before moving to wipe up some blood coming from the redhead's nose. Danny for the most part remained unaffected, wincing slightly when Carmilla covered the small cut with a plaster.
'Your sketch is a likeness by the way.'
'It doesn't captivate her face enough. The shading of her eyes doesn't quite show the warmth and softness to them.'
'and you tried to convince everyone that you don't like her.'
'I don't like her.'
'That's bull Karnstein and we both know it.'
'I don't like her, I love her...I'm in love with her.'
'You should tell her Carmilla, you guys are practically a couple already.'
'I'm not telling her, that would ruin everything.'
'Or it could give you everything.'
...
Laura walked briskly over to the sofa to see Carmilla lobbing grapes at Danny who was trying to type something on her phone. Laura chuckled as Danny shrieked when a grape went down her top. Still laughing Laura bent down to sit on the bean bag infront of where Carmilla sat on the couch.
'Carm quit wasting grapes and give me some.'
'Come up here then Cupcake,' Carmilla motioned for Laura to sit with her on the sofa with her, patting her lap as Laura stood up before clambering on the sofa to sit in Carmilla's lap. The brunette wrapped an arm around Laura's waist tugging on her jersey to bring her closer before grabbing a grape and feeding it to the blonde who smiled lovingly down at her.
'Hey it's my favourite little hotties!' Danny looked at the sound of Kirsch's voice, smiling slightly when she saw that he was wearing his superman shirt.
'Kirsch! I've been waiting to show you my jersey all day!' Laura jumped up from Carmilla's lap to twirl herself around posing in her rugby jersey, looking up at Kirsch expectantly.
'That's fricking awesome Hollis! So Carm-sexy, where's your jersey?'
'Still in the shop and if you call me that again I'll cut off 'little' Kirsch'
'On that note i'm going to sit waaaaay over there.' With that Kirsch made his way to sit on the arm beside Danny.
...
'Laura please sit still, I'm trying to sorry out your hair and it would be a lot easier if you weren't turning round to Carmilla every five seconds!'
'Sorry Perry, it's just Carm keeps on drawing little cartoons on the corner of the page. I'll keep my head still now, I promise.' Laura sat on the floor as Perry began plaiting her hair, running her fingers through it to comb it as she pulled strands together.
Lafontaine was sat next to Perry, their nose buried in some science book whilst Danny still sat beside Kirsch as they both engaged in an arm wrestle. Carmilla slouched on a bean bag opposite Laura, her tongue peaking out in concentration as she sketched the crooked smile that she'd know anywhere.
'Okay I'm done now, look in the mirror and tell me what you think.'
Laura took the mirror looking in to see two perfect french braids, coming just below her shoulders. Grinning she said thank you to Perry before turning to look at Carmilla.
'Hey Carm, what do you think of my hair?'
Carmilla looked up to see Laura with two French braids, her eyes sparkled as she beamed at Carmilla who couldn't help but grin back.
'They look great Laura, you look cute. Now all you need is face paint and you're good to go!'
'You know I was kidding about the face paint right Cupcake?!'
'It was a great idea Carm now come here so I can do yours!'
'I don't see why I need it too, you've got enough spirit for the both of us!'
'Stop being grumpy and come here.'
Carmilla grumbled but gave in, moving closer so that Laura could use her finger to apply black and red stripes under her eyes like war paint. Carmilla could feel herself warming as Laura swirled the paint against her cheeks.
'Please tell me paint is all the spirit you're going to force upon me?!'
'Stop talking you'll smudge the paint! Don't act like you're not enjoying this, you secretly are full of team spirit.'
'If team spirit is curling up with you, feline Laura and a good book then I have a lot of team spirit.'
'We can do that after the game.'
'I'm holding you to that.'
...
'There's no way that I'm wearing that!'
'Come on snarky it's just a beer hat. You already have the paint so what's the difference?'
'Why don't you wear it then, you can show your support for your boyfriend.'
'For the millionth time Kirsch and I aren't dating!'
Carmilla and Danny stood in the toilets waiting for Laura. Carmilla had refused to put on the spare jersey Laura brought, and even though she had black and red war stripes she point blank refused to wear the beer cap or to purchase an airhorn stating that she'd prefer the ability to hear.
Carmilla turned around at the sound of the cubicle door opening and her heart melted when she saw that Laura had wrapped a black and red scalf loosely around her neck accompanied with her Silas Snakes baseball cap that was a little big so it had fell down blocking her view slightly but she looked adorkable which only made Carmilla smile more.
'Sorry to break the intense stare off you've got going on here but it's almost time and I said I'd meet Kirsch before the game so I'll are you guys out there.' Danny left flipping Carmilla off when she started to sing 'it must have been love' after the redhead's fleeting form. Once again they were left alone.
'I know you don't care about the school spirit or anything...'
'No I don't...but you do so I'll tolerate these lackwits for tonight.'
'We should get going but I want you to wear something else'
'I thought the paint was enough!'
Laura shushed her before lifting her scalf from around her neck, stepping closer to the brunette. She reached to move Carmilla's hair, letting it rest against her chest as she looped her scalding around Carmilla using it to pull her closer.
Carmilla watched feeling both utterly relaxed and nervous in Laura's presence as she adjusted the scalf so that it fit snugly around Carmilla's form. She stepped back slightly looking at Carmilla properly. Carmilla wore some black leather pants, a black t-shirt with a cat on with Laura's scalf resting on her neck over a green military army style jacket that had the name 'Will Karnstein' stitched onto the right side pocket.
Laura bit her lip at Carmilla's appearance, turning away to retrieve something from her bag before walking back to Carmilla clutching a black beanie. Smiling Carmilla let Laura fix it on her head, adjusting the scalf once more before holding it and looking directly into Carmilla's eyes.
'There, now you look perfect.' Carmilla felt the blush creeping onto her cheeks, for the first time that day feeling glad that the paint was there to hide it.
'What's Puppy's position again?'
'He's playing Full Back.'
'Am I supposed to know what that is Xena?'
'Well maybe if you'd have been paying attention to Kirsch instead of reading that bloody book maybe you'd know!'
'Okay guys stop I'm trying to watch the game, Danny it's okay Carmilla is basically a rugby virgin so she isn't following the game, go easy on her. Carm Kirsch is basically part of the defence he works with those guys that are running near the center they're the wingers and his job is to defend his team, attack the apposition to stop then from gaining possession of the ball. So far their defence has been good apart from when that burly guy tried to knock Kirsch over.'
Laura sat between Carmilla and Danny, a huge box of nachos in her lap and a big slurpy in her hand. She'd been on the edge of her seat for most of the game as her and Danny shouted encouragements down to Kirsch as he skillfully dodged another attempt at attacking their team's defence. Carmilla had been trying to read but after she flinched from yet another loud cheer erupting from the crowd she'd put her book down and started actually paying attention to what was going on. Not that she had any idea what point in the game they were at.
...
Sighing Carmilla grabbed Laura's drink slurping noisily which resulted in several irritated glared thrown her way. She tried to turn her attention back to the field but she was more interested in the way Laura sat, the way she jumped up in her seat every time Silas scored. The way she squirmed in her seat when Kirsch had the ball and the way she pushed the cap back when it fell down. Most of all she loved when every now and again Laura would turn her head flashing Carmilla her crooked smile and pointing to the field until she looked out on the field.
This time when Laura pointed to the field her face was filled with excitement and anticipation, Carmilla looked to see Kirsch kicking the ball, and she watched as it soared through the air into a perfect space for his team mate to grab it, running and darting through and suddenly the crowd erupted into loud cheers and cat calls.
Laura stood up pulling Carmilla up as she started chanting Silas repeatedly, everywhere Carmilla looked people were chanting for their school, chanting for their team and for Kirsch. She turned to see Danny running through the crowd, running down to meet Kirsch and high five him. Finally Carmilla turned her head to see Laura looking expectantly at her, she rolled her eyes but she couldn't fight the smile as she opens her mouth to shout along with the crowd 'You go Puppy Kirsch!'
