Work Text:
Carmilla’s fingers drummed nervously on the wheel as she pulled the car into one of the parking garage’s narrow spots. She switched the engine off and suddenly it was very quiet in the car. Carmilla looked to Laura at her side and the blonde gave her a small smile and placed her hand over Carmilla’s.
She would never get tired of the way their rings rubbed against each other when they did that.
“So, we’re here.” Laura began, turning to the backseat.
“Hmhm.” A low, soft voice answered from the back from the back of the car.
Laura gave Carmilla a meaningful look and she took her cue to try next. “I thought you’d be darting out of the car, seeing how you’ve talked about nothing else for weeks.” She turned as well and raised a brow at her daughter. “Everything okay, Amber?”
In the back sat a 16 year old girl with long, dark hair, a small button nose and pretty, dark brown eyes. Her dark red shirt and black skinny jeans stood in stark contrast to the bright colours of the rainbow wristband around her right wrist.
“I’m okay.” Amber muttered, staring at nothing out of the window.
“You don’t have to go.” Laura said, rubbing the dark-haired girl’s knee. “There’s no pressure, sweety. Either you go out and we look around, or we’ll go somewhere else and make a day of it.”
Amber took a deep, shuddering breath and Carmilla felt her heart break at the sad look on her girl’s face. “No…no. I want to go.” She turned to face her mothers. “I’m just…What if there’s someone from school there?”
Carmilla knew she shouldn’t laugh at her daughter’s concerns, but she honestly couldn’t help it. “Am, honey, it’s a Pride parade.” She only laughed harder when the girl gave her a highly offended look.
Laura smacked her in the arm, but Carmilla could see the hidden amusement in her chastising expression. “What your mother means, is that you don’t have to worry, sweetheart.” She told Amber with a reassuring smile. “If anyone from your school is here, they’re either there for the same reason you are or to support someone they know. Either way, you have nothing to worry about.”
Amber bit her lip and fiddled with her wristband, more hesitant than Carmilla had ever seen her. For better or worse, Amber had definitely inherited Laura’s drive. Her temper too, but pointing that out typically got her an hour of sulking from both of them.
Seeing her this scared and hesitant triggered a particularly maternal instinct within Carmilla. Which still kind of surprised her, because before Amber was born Carmilla would have sworn that she had none.
“What if I don’t fit in?” Amber muttered, fiddling with the hem of her shirt. “I mean…What if I go out there and I just…I don’t know…” She sighed and rubbed furiously at her eyes. “I like girls. I know I like girls. But what if I go out there and like…show everyone I’m gay and I just come out of it still feeling like I don’t belong.”
“Oh honey.” Laura sighed. She reached up and wiped away the tears rolling down Amber’s cheeks. “Amber, you’re sweet, you’re smart, you’re gorgeous and there’s so many people who would kill to hang out with you.” She soothed.
Carmilla swallowed thickly, trying to dislodge the brick of emotion suddenly clogging her throat. “Yeah, you like girls.” She muttered. “You also like Doctor Who and Greek mythology and cooking and weird cartoons.” She gave her daughter the brightest smile she could muster. “They might look like idiots draped in pink streamers and rainbow flags, but those people out there are more than just that too.”
Laura rolled her eyes. “Okay, so your mother should learn that people in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones, because I still have a picture of us at Pride with her wearing literally nothing but a pink bikini and a rainbow flag.” She nudged her wife with her shoulder. “But she is right, sort of. Your sexuality is a really big, really important part of you, but there’s more to it than that. And there’s more to life than Pride.”
Amber nodded and took a deep breath. “I know, I know.” She ran a hand through her hair. “I just really want to belong, you know?”
“Of course we know.” Carmilla gave her and indulgent smile. “Honey, that’ll happen eventually anyway. You’re sixteen. You don’t have to force it. Just go out there and see how you feel.”
The teenager looked at both of her mothers and nodded again. “Okay. Yeah…Yeah, okay.” With a determined yet nervous expression, she threw open the door and jumped out of the car. “You guys coming? Before I have another embarrassing nervous breakdown, please.”
Laura laughed softly and waved Amber off. “We’ll be right behind you, Am. Just go and check it out and if you want to leave, we’ll be right there.”
Amber nodded and headed for the exit. The moment she was out of sight, Carmilla groaned and let her head drop to the wheel.
“Is it your turn to have a nervous breakdown?” Laura asked, rubbing her back. “Because I don’t think we have time for comfort sex.”
“I hate everything and everyone.” Carmilla sighed, leaning into her wife’s touch when slender fingers combed through her hair.
“No, you don’t. You’re just upset.” Laura gave her a wry smile and rubbed circles with her thumb at the base of Carmilla’s skull. “I hate seeing our baby scared and nervous too, you know? She’s brave though, just like her momma.”
“Her momma was a fucking coward until she turned 20.” Carmilla muttered petulantly.
“Oh?” Laura raised a brow. “That’s not what I remember.” She nudged Carmilla until the pale woman turned to look at her. “I remember a girl who was scared and hurt. A girl who, despite emotional and physical abuse, let herself fall in love with me and let me fall in love with her.” Tears welled in her eyes as she ran her thumb over a scar that ran the length of Carmilla’s arm. “I remember a girl who held her head high, even after her mother threw her out and stopped paying her tuition and she had to come live with me and my dad.”
“Laura…” Carmilla didn’t resist when her tearful wife pulled her into a soft kiss.“
I remember a very brave girl, who has loved me even though her mother pretends this brave girl, her amazing wife and their beautiful daughter don’t exist.” They both let out a watery laugh and Laura kissed Carmilla again. “And I am so, so proud of this brave woman. Not to mention how proud I am of myself that I’m still the person you love.”
“More each day.” Carmilla breathed, brushing honey-blonde strands out of her wife’s eyes.
Laura laughed as she pulled away to dry her eyes. “You’re such a sap, Carm.”
The dark-haired woman raised a brow in mock indignation. “Excuse me? Who started us off on emotional speeches, huh, Mrs. Hollis?”
“Details.” Laura waved her off as she opened her door. “Now come on, let’s go before we lose our baby.”
They spent the rest of the day hovering a fair distance behind Amber and taking in the sights. Carmilla would have hovered much closer, but Laura kept stopping her every time she tried.
“This is like the baby monitor situation all over again.” The blonde remarked with a wry grin. It had taken Carmilla a remarkable amount of restraint not to check on baby Amber every time she cried and Laura had to resort to tackling her to the couch on more than one occasion..
“It wasn’t a situation.” Carmilla grumbled, pointedly not looking at Laura. “I was expressing motherly concern.”
Laura laughed. “Carm, when the doctor suggested just letting her cry herself out you nearly punched him in the face.”
Thankfully, there seemed to be no immediate need for physical violence this time. Amber wore the same expression Carmilla remembered seeing on her own face in pictures of her first time at Pride. Shock that the event was so big. Overwhelming relief that she really wasn’t alone. Joy at how positive the energy was.
And then surprise and embarrassment when Amber ran headlong into a girl carrying a small bucket and she got splashed with pink paint.
“Oh, fuck! I am so sorry!” The girl cried as she put her bucket down and tried to wipe the paint off of Amber’s chest. She was a little older than the dark-haired teenager and very, very pretty. Long, red hair was tied into an elaborate braid with pink flowers that clashed horribly with the red strands. Her clothes were a similar shade of neon-pink and most of her right arm was taken up by a tattoo of winding rose vines.
“I-It’s fine.” Amber stuttered, face about as red as the other girl’s hair. “I wasn’t really looking where I was going.”
“Yes, well, I did splash you with this stuff and it’s not really coming off and-oh my god I’m basically just petting your boobs now!” The girl jerked her hands away as if they had been burned and groaned. “God, I’m so sorry!”
“It’s fine, it’s fine.” Amber laughed, still blushing. “I think a lot of women here wouldn’t mind if you wanted to touch their boobs, but maybe you should ask first next time.”
“Smartass.” The older girl snorted and shook her head. “I’m Jenny. I’d shake your hand, but…” She showed off her paint-covered hands. “You been to Pride before?”
“I’m Amber and eh, no.” Amber sheepishly rubbed the back of her head. “First time.”
Jenny threw the younger girl an understanding smile. “Gotta start sometime, right? A friend of mine is here for the first time too. Hang on.” She turned to group of girls a ways away. “Kim! Come over here for a sec!”
A short Asian girl with pink streaks in her short, brown hair darted over with a wide grin. Her shirt left her stomach bare and revealed a set of very appealing abs. “Wassup Jennelicious?” She asked as she threw an arm over her friend’s shoulders. “Did you assault someone with paint?”
“That wasn’t my fault and yes I apologized so don’t look at me like that.” Jenny shoved her friend playfully. “Amber, this is my dumb friend Kim. Kim, this is Amber. She’s a newbie like you.”
Kim’s grin only grew wider and she squealed. “Aw, you found yourself a baby lesbian!” And then she shot forward and suddenly Amber had an armful of over-excited stranger as she was pulled into a hug. “She’s so cute! Can we keep her?!”
Jenny was halfway through a facepalm before she remembered the paint on her hands and thought better of it. “Okay, first of all, she’s a person and not a stray cat so we can’t keep her.” She ignored the pout Kim threw her at that. “Secondly, I’m pretty sure we all qualify as baby lesbians to most people here. Not to mention that I called you over here because it’s your first time too, not to molest her.”
“Oh, she’s fine. You’re fine, right?” Kim asked. When she got a dazed nod from the dark-haired teenager, she smiled. “Good! And I know how you feel about the whole ‘first time’ thing. I was really scared too, but Jenny’s been a big sweetheart and she’s been keeping me calm all day and now I’m totally into it.”
Amber arched a brow. If this was Kim’s version of calm, she wasn’t sure how anyone dealt with her when she was excited. Not that she minded the excitement. At the very least, she certainly wasn’t in any hurry to pull out of the hug. ‘God, those abs feel like they’re made of steel.’
If Kim noticed Amber’s distraction, she apparently didn’t feel the need to comment. “So, wait, I just kind of assumed you’re gay. Are you here for yourself or friends or…”
“Eh, no, no. I’m here for myself.” Amber stammered. “I mean, I’m also sort of here for my moms, because…well, moms, so duh…but yeah I guess I’m mostly here for myself this time but I don’t mean that I don’t care about the larger LGBTQ community or anything but I mean-“
“You just keep going, huh?” Jenny laughed. She threw Amber a Cheshire grin. “Do I have to touch your boobs again to make you stop.”
Amber’s cheeks flushed red once more and it wasn’t helped when Kim looked around in surprise. “We’re touching boobs? Sweet! Knew you called me over for a reason.” She gave Amber an all too seductive smile. “Can I start with yours?”
Jenny burst out laughing while Amber only gaped at them both like a fish on dry land. “Okay, okay, no more pixy sticks for you.” She said as she pulled Kim back by the scruff of her shirt. “I think we’re melting the poor girl’s brain.” She raised an eyebrow at Amber. “Not a lot of gay girls where you’re from?”
“Very small town.” Amber managed to croak out while her brain tried to reboot.
“Hm, yeah, I know how it is.” Jenny gave her a sympathetic smile. “Well, good news. Flirting still works the same. Try to listen, give compliments, all that good stuff.”
A shy smile tugged at Amber’s lips. “So if I tell you that you’ve got the most beautiful eyes I’ve ever seen?”
Those ice-blue eyes blinked rapidly in surprise and this time it was Jenny’s turn to blush. “Eh…I…Yeah…Yeah that would work. That would really work.” They stared at each other with matching smiles for a few seconds before Kim shattered the moment.
“Oh, fine, okay. Go ahead and eye-fuck each other.” She said with wink and a pout. “Just ignore Kim. I’m used to it. ‘Third Wheel Kim’ they used to call me.”
Amber laughed and shook her head. If Kim wanted to play, she would play. The dark-haired girl had to gather her courage a bit as she stepped closer to the Asian girl, but it was surprisingly easy to be brave while surrounded by so many people who were celebrating who they were.
“Were you feeling ignored?” Amber asked, eyes heavily lidded and voice husky. “Don’t worry, you’re utterly adorable.” She ghosted her fingers over Kim’s abs and revelled in the way they twitched under her touch. “And you can touch my boobs anytime if I can touch these.”
Amber wondered if Kim was caught on the back foot a lot, because going by the dazed look in the girl’s eyes she suspected that wasn’t the case.
Kim cleared her throat and actually fanned herself a little, a shy smile tugging at her lips. “Eh, wow…Jen, are you sure we can’t keep her?”
“I’m reconsidering my stance on that.” Jenny muttered. “You’ve been hiding your game, Amber.”
The dark-haired girl stepped back with a sheepish grin. “Honestly, I haven’t. I’m not really sure where that came from.”
Jenny raised a brow and shrugged. “If you say so. Listen, we’re gonna look around a bit with our friends. We’d love it if you joined us.”
While Amber had fun with her new friends for the rest of the day, her mothers were experiencing some more…mixed emotions.
On the one hand, they were immensely relieved and happy to see their daughter having a good time and laughing when she’d been so nervous only hours earlier.
On the other, this also meant they had frontline seats to Jenny and Kim’s playful fight for Amber’s attention and they could have done without that part.
Carmilla kept shooting them both absolutely murderous glares whenever either girl touched their daughter and Laura was trying very hard to be the cool parent for once and pretending she didn’t mind.
Of course, then Kim leaned in and kissed Amber. The dark-haired girl flailed a bit in surprise, but soon wrapped her arms around Kim’s neck and returned the kiss. Just as Carmilla began to wonder if they no longer needed to breathe Kim pulled back.
The second she did, Jenny first kissed Kim with a familiarity that suggested this had happened before and then pulled Amber from her arms and kissed her too.
Carmilla just about crushed Laura’s hand. “I’m going to kill them both.” She muttered, eerily calm as she walked away. However, Laura quickly jerked her back.
“Oh no you don’t.” She hissed. “Calm down. She’s sixteen and she’s having fun.” Laura glanced at their daughter and sighed. “Okay, so a bit more fun than we’d hoped, but there’s nothing wrong with open relationships Carmilla.”
“Screw that part! Who cares?” The dark-haired woman snapped. “She’s making out with a ginger!”
Laura snorted and gave her wife an exasperated look. “Really, Carm?”
“Do you have any idea how long it’ll take before Xena will let this go if she finds out?” Carmilla fired back. “Out of all the girls here she picks a ginger. She has to be doing this to spite me.” She grumbled and ran a hand through her hair.
Laura laughed and wrapped her arm around her wife. “Oh get over yourself, it’s just a kiss and-Nevermind, I’ll help you toss their bodies into the sea.” Like ice in the desert, Laura’s determination to be the cool mom for once faded away in an instant.
Kim had plastered herself to Amber’s side, seemingly whispering into her ear while Amber kissed Jenny and one of her hands had definitely vanished under the dark-haired girl’s shirt. Meanwhile, Jenny’s hands had slid down and landed squarely on Amber’s butt. For the sake of her own sanity, Laura chose to ignore that she couldn’t see where Amber’s hands were.
That was her baby girl they were groping, dammit!
“You still have the sword, right?” She asked Carmilla, only partially joking.
“No.” The older woman sounded genuinely put out about that fact as she pointed accusingly at Laura. “Someone got a been in her bonnet and made me give it to a museum.”
Laura sighed, suddenly too tired to even argue that. First degree murder was probably pushing it a bit anyway. She leaned against Carmilla. “Carm, she’s growing up too fast.”
Carmilla sighed and rubbed her back. “I know, Cupcake. How dare she?” She shot Laura a wry smile. “No respect for their elders, these kids today.”
Laura laughed and shook her head. “She totally gets the womanizing from you too.”
Carmilla opened her mouth, but found she couldn’t really deny that one. She wasn’t sure if she was supposed to feel proud or worried now. Either way, she tried to find something else to look at rather than the public make-out session her daughter was taking part in.
The car ride home was going to be profoundly awkward.