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Laura burst through the door only to find Carmilla standing arms folded, smirking at her.
“I- How do you even do that?!” Laura huffed, a little breathless from the two-storey climb up to the roof.
“I guess it’s my natural athleticism and, you know, vampiric ability?” Carmilla replied satirically. With a wink, she nodded Laura over to the champagne alongside two flutes she’d already placed on a small wooden table next to the couch in the centre of the room. It was barely lit with only a couple of small lamps dotted around the place so as not to generate too much glare on the huge glass panes to the front, sides and ceiling of the solarium.
Carmilla was right; it was perfect for stargazing.
Carmilla popped the champagne and decanted it into the flutes. She sat on the ground, her back resting against the couch, and offered up one of the over-full glasses to the tiny brunette.
Laura’s irritation at losing the “race” was quickly forgotten as she beamed at Carmilla before dropping down next to the vampire who’s lips curved into that sweet smile reserved only for Laura, and handed her a glass.
Carmilla looked out over the darkened yet undeniably picturesque grounds below them, with the stars glittering across the velvety night sky above. Laura took a breath before releasing a small satisfied sigh, then tasted a sip of her champagne whilst looking across at her girlfriend. Carmilla’s expression was awestruck; lost in the stars. It amazed Laura how she could still be captivated by them after all this time. She nudged Carmilla’s arm to encourage the vampire to drape it around her shoulders before she squeezed even closer to the dark-haired girl, so they were now glued together at the sides.
“Any closer and you’ll be on my lap,” Carmilla said, amusedly.
“Well, I don’t really think you’d be opposed to that,” Laura tested, using as much false bravado as she could muster.
Carmilla raised an eyebrow at the tiny journalist sceptically, but didn’t say anything. She tightened her hold around Laura and took a long sip from her flute, attention back out to the stars.
They sat in comfortable silence for a few minutes. Laura might have been staring at Carmilla more than she was the starry sky before them, but she swore her view was just as captivating.
“Tell me about them?” Laura asked with a hopeful look. Carmilla nodded softly, the corners of her lips turning up slightly in a shy smile as she took Laura’s almost empty glass and placed it back on the small wooden table alongside her own. She stretched out on the floor after grabbing a couple of the mulberry coloured pillows from the couch to rest their heads on, taking Laura’s hand and pulling her down with her.
As they lay side by side, Laura raised their joined hands to try and point out one of the few constellations she almost knew.
“That’s the ‘Big Dipper’ right?” she said with uncertainty, looking towards Carmilla. The sum of what she’d managed to retain from her 6th Grade visit to McLaughlin Planetarium back in Toronto.
Carmilla looked a mixture of impressed and surprised. She chuckled warmly and replied, “Part of ‘Ursa Major’, yes.” She moved their still linked hands over slightly and pointed out a few more stars. “These two stars to the right of the ‘Big Dipper’ and these few underneath make up the rest of it.”
“Wow, that’s actually pretty huge,” Laura gaped.
“You don’t say,” Carmilla said, teasingly. “This one over here is ‘Ursa Minor’. It’s like a smaller, backwards version of the ‘Big Dipper.’”
She let their hands drop gently back down and she looked over at Laura, who wondered aloud, “How many constellations actually are there?”
“Eighty-eight,” Carmilla replied with a lazy shrug.
“Seriously?” Laura said in disbelief. “It’s a good job we have all night then, isn’t it?” she added, smugly.
“Hmm.” Carmilla agreed satisfiedly as she finally let go of Laura’s hand to snake her arm around her shoulders and pulled her girlfriend in closer. The tiny brunette released a contented sigh and snuggled back into her side.
Carmilla pointed out a few more constellations but Laura soon found her gaze drifting back to the older girl. Listening to Carmilla talk about something she found so fascinating left Laura positively ensnared.
She placed an arm across Carmilla’s stomach possessively, taking a moment to drink in the fact that she was here, lying in the arms of this incredible and beautiful woman she got to call ‘hers’.
They’d come so far since Carmilla had first crashed into her life that day in Room 307 - all leather and bad attitude.
Well, not much has changed, Laura thought to herself with a grin.
Laura remembered the relief and pride she felt on the edge of that pit, when the panther shifted into Carmilla. After everything, she still showed up - just in the nick of time - and she held that sword like she meant it, when she gave Laura that last apologetic look before diving into the crater. In that moment, Laura had felt like she’d lost everything she never even knew she wanted.
What she needed.
Her grip on Carmilla tightened and the dark-haired girl looked down to find watery eyes.
“Hey, Laura. What is it?” she asked, concern marring her features.
It was almost too much for Laura. She reached up to cup Carmilla’s face and softly kissed her. “I don’t want to be apart from you, Carm.”
Carmilla kissed her again, this time soundly.
“I’m not going anywhere, cupcake,” she replied earnestly, dark eyes boring into her. “I’m right where I’m supposed to be - next to you.” Carmilla wrapped her arms around her as the tiny brunette tentatively climbed on top of her and kissed her carefully.
Lustfully.
She bit down on Carmilla’s lip, which elicited a reserved moan from the older girl and she sensed something was different between them this time. Encouraged, she slipped her tongue into the older girl’s mouth to meet hers. Carmilla pulled her further on top of her and ran her hands along the sides of her dress, all the way up and into her hair, pressing her closer all the time.
Laura broke the kiss only to begin to bite and suck at those delicious pressure points she was already getting to know so well on Carmilla’s neck and collarbones, sending an electric heat down the vampire’s body as she slid a thigh in-between Carmilla’s legs. They’d almost reached this point on a couple of occasions before now, but had never found the right moment to explore each other further.
Completely.
She tugged at the bottom of Carmilla’s shirt insistently. “Laura, are you sure?” The vampire nearly panted.
Laura pulled back to look into Carmilla’s dark eyes and paused before simply and assuredly replying, “Yes.”
She held her gaze for a few extra moments before Laura asked quietly, “Are you?”
Carmilla smiled and nodded nervously before connecting their lips once more.