A/N: Thanks to sabrina bayonet, Ded and umbrellaleg for their reviews on Chapter Seven!
So I had a bit of writer's block for this chapter and I don't know if I'm completely happy with how it jumps around. But yeah, after days of editing and re-editing I had to concede defeat.
I hope you enjoy this chapter anyhow!
When you wake up in the morning, you experience a moment of complete bliss. You're tangled up in Carmilla, arms thrown over her, your legs pressed against her own. It's actually quite uncomfortable now that you're awake, but as you slowly open your eyes and see Carmilla asleep, the feeling of bliss only grows within you.
You watch her for a few moments and feel a wave of affection pass though you. She shifts in her sleep, murmurs and then opens her eyes.
The two of you gaze at each other for a few moments. Neither of you notice the bleary eyes and the messy hair. Both of you are so captured by the gaze of the other, each finding wonder in the briefest of glances.
You lean forward and gently press your lips against hers. The two of you kiss sleepily for a few minutes; a lazy, relaxed kiss that you wish could last forever.
Carmilla eventually breaks away and laughs, because your morning breath is terrible.
You yawn (Carmilla winces at the smell), pull her in closer and whisper in her ear, biting on her lobe gently:
"Do you like toast? Because that's all I have in my apartment…"
Carmilla, distracted by your proximity manages to choke out "Toast…is…fine…"
And then she turns her head, and the two of you are kissing again. Neither of you feel any pressure to stop, it being a weekend and so your kisses stretch on and on- slow kisses, passionate kisses, clumsy kisses. Each one makes you feel like you are flying; each one is equally as amazing as the last.
But unfortunately, just as Carmilla begins to kiss down your neck, your stomach decides to let out a loud, unpleasant growl.
She merely chuckles:
"Toast then?"
/
You burn the toast of course, but Carmilla doesn't seem to mind- she even seems to enjoy eating charred bread with raspberry jam as you apologise profusely for the lack of food in your apartment.
Both of you chew in silence for a few minutes and then Carmilla leans forward and mutter:
"You have a little…something."
She reaches out a slender finger and wipes a smidgeon of strawberry jam off the corner of your mouth. She rests the finger on your lips for a fraction longer than necessary, before she brings it towards her own mouth and carefully licks the jam off it.
You almost faint with desire. How Carmilla has managed to turn eating burnt toast into a seduction, you will never know.
But you're not complaining, as you eagerly lean towards and kiss her. You taste raspberries and burnt bread and that addictive taste of Carmilla and it is oh so wonderful.
/
"Carm, we should leave my apartment. It's a beautiful day."
"But you're more beautiful, cupcake."
You roll your eyes, because the two of you have been inside your apartment for the whole morning, and Carmilla's been showing you just how beautiful she thinks you are.
But now you want to do something romantic, something to celebrate your new relationship.
"C'mon, let's go be one of those annoyingly affectionate couples in the park." You whine.
Carmilla's tone takes on that of a five year old as she refuses to leave your bed.
"No. I want to stay here with you."
"Carmilla." You pout at her and try and give her puppy dog eyes. This is met with surprising success as she groans, and begins to slowly search around the room for her clothes.
/
Dear Lord, you think you could be in love with this woman, but sometimes she can be so difficult. Having managed to entice her out of your apartment, she walks beside you to the park with a dour expression, acting as though you have asked her to kill a puppy.
You try and ignore her grumpiness, focussing instead on your linked hands and the tingle you still get every time you're near her.
"Carm, look at that bird! Do you think it could be a nutcracker? Or a jay?"
She doesn't respond, looking up at it briefly before returning her gaze to the path in front of you.
(Her apathy is really beginning to irritate you and you take several deep breaths. The two of you have never had a really serious argument and you don't want to start on this beautiful day.)
Stupid, grumpy girlfriend who may or may not have said she loved me and hasn't mentioned it again and is now treating the world like a pile of-
You're so focussed on your internal rant that you don't notice the dip in the pavement and so begins your inevitable spiral downwards to meet the hard concrete ground.
But of course she's there, to catch you, just like she did in your first meeting. She gazes down at you, a smirk playing across her lips.
Her previous apathy has gone, and you realise that when she looks at you, she sees something worth caring about.
A rude interjection of thunder has the two of you jumping in fright. As Carmilla helps you up, you look up and see that dark storm clouds have begun to spread across the sky.
Oh no…
And then comes the downpour, with little warning.
"Really cupcake? We could have avoided all of this if we had just STAYED INDOORS!"
"Shut up and start running Carm."
With a token eye-roll that you are somehow still able to see through the ridiculous downpour, Carmilla grabs your hand and starts tugging you home.
/
Miraculously you don't fall on the way home (perhaps it has something to do with Carm's hand guiding you through the rain.)
Of course, both of you are completely and utterly drenched and so the two of you strip off your outer layers and huddle by your heater.
You sit in silence for a bit, watching the rain flash by your window.
And then, you can't ignore what has been bugging you all day. You have to say it all you'll go mad with the wondering.
(Oh God you can't, what if she reacts badly, what if you screw up your fledgling relationship, what if...)
You take a deep breath, trying to steady your nerves. You look into her eyes and you see it again, you see her love and you know it will be alright.
"Hey Carm…did you really say you loved me last night?"
She doesn't reply for an age, staring out the window, an image of troubled beauty. She is silent for so long that you begin to fear that she will never reply, that you have made an awful mistake.
And then, softly, a whisper:
"I don't know Laura. I think what I feel for you…could possibly be love."
She has that bare, vulnerable look on her face again, the one that wipes away her hard edges and renders her almost childlike.
You feel a swooping sensation within you, a growing warmth, that has nothing to do with the proximity of the heater and everything to do with Carmilla, with that beautiful, smart woman who is somehow interested in you.
(You're grinning like a child at Christmas and you can't seem to stop.)
If you could get your cold, stiff, rain-drenched legs to move you would surely be doing a happy dance at this moment (it's probably good that you can't, you can almost hear Carmilla's derisive comments).
Realising that you probably look deranged with happiness you try to return to a semblance of normality by taking her hand in your own.
And it slips out, so easily- perhaps it is because this feels so right.
"It's ok, Carm. I think I might love you as well."
A/N 2: Also heads up- the next chapter is going to have some more smut.