It was long overdue, but Carmilla and Laura were finally having a conversation about the upcoming trial. So far, the new information was far from reassuring. Laura was starting to regret bringing it up, instead wishing she had convinced Carmilla to do some more cleaning. Carmilla, for her part, kept giving Laura amused looks as she tried to eat a box of chocolate-chip cookies without throwing up.

Laura waved her latest, half-eaten attempt in the air. "So let me get this straight. The Dean sacrificed your last girlfriend to some ancient evil? The same Dean who is also the clan leader of the Austrian Branch, which I have somehow applied for membership at?"

"Basically." Carmilla sat on her bed, resting her elbows on her knees. Laura had some trouble tearing her eyes away from the exposed cleavage. "Really, our name is Die Ligne Gefolge des Grafen Henegouwen, but no one calls us that anymore. Marie likes to keep a low profile." She smirked. "The men of House Ligne followed the Henegouwen - the Hainauts - into war during the crusades, and more than half of them came back all pale and gloomy. Marie was born into the family a while later. Her brother Gerard is still back in Austria, being a total douchebag, but the rest of the really old ones are dead by now."

"And she locked you inside a coffin for like a hundred years for disobeying her?"

"Yeah."

"Why the hell would I want to be all chummy with a bunch of dusty old sociopaths, Carmilla?"

"Because otherwise, you can't stay here." Carmilla grimaced. "And they... we... aren't exactly the worst ones."

Laura was not convinced by Carmilla's crappy sales pitch. "And every twenty years, you all come here to sacrifice a bunch of people for no reason?"

Carmilla lay back and stared up at the roof. "I bet there's a really great reason."

"That you don't know about."

"Yeah."

Laura threw the cookie at her face.

"You know, Shortcake, this is considered just a teeny bit rude."

Laura didn't reply for a minute or so, but then she hesitantly pulled back and dragged her eyes away from Carmilla's still bleeding neck to her eyes. "Do you mind?"

Carmilla rolled her eyes. "You should at least ask me on a date first. I'm a lady."

Maybe she should do that. Later. She gave in to impulse and licked Carmilla's wounds clean before they closed up completely, and she felt the other woman's breath hitch in her throat. When she looked up again, Carmilla's eyes were a shade darker than before.

"Would you mind if I tried something?"

At Carmillas resigned expression, Laura scooted up a little on top of her. She took a few calming breaths, suddenly nervous, but then she tilted her head and very lightly pressed her lips to Carmilla's.

Carmilla took a few seconds to respond, but then she reached up to cup Laura's face with both hands as she turned the kiss into something more involved. Laura felt a rush that blindsided her slightly, but then the kiss was over and Carmilla was looking up at her.

"You don't have to do this, Laura." Carmilla's expression was serious, and she stroked her thumb over Laura's temple, keeping her long hair from falling down in Carmilla's face.

Laura whispered, attempting a smile, "Maybe I want to? I mean, if it's alright?"

Instead of answering, Carmilla pulled her down and kissed her again. Laura didn't know it could feel this way.