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They were cuddling in bed one night, watching an episode of Buffy, when Laura poked her girlfriend in the hip. "Do you miss that?"
Carmilla frowned. "What, destroying warehouses?"
"No, silly. Sex!"
Carmilla's brows furrowed deeper. "Not really, no." Laura rolled off the vampire's stomach, and sat up to look at her.
"Are you lying again?"
Which was how Carmilla found herself here, sipping on a half-caff no-foam blood mocha in the Silas student union, with very little to say to her beloved darling's other girlfriend, one vampire-slaying werewolf Danny Lawrence.
"So..."
"So," Danny brushed some dirt off her lap. "Here we are." Silence.
Carmilla sighed. "The things we do for love." That seemed to break the tension at least, as Danny shot her a somewhat guilty grin.
"Seriously. Once Laura was convinced she heard a cat stuck atop the World Tree, and made me climb up to get it. It took hours before Summer Society could steal a cherry picker high enough to rescue me."
Carmilla let her mouth quirk into a smile. “That brownie bit can be pretty absurd at times.” Talking about Laura was easy. She could do this. Stories about Laura, and which of her traits were most endearing, were topics she could discuss at length. Bonding over a common interest was the first step in getting to know another woman—mother taught her that.
But when had Carmilla gotten so bad at talking to women she needed to resort to her mother's advice? She might actually be spending too much time with the creampuff.
Danny must have mistook the expression on Carmilla's face. “Don't get me wrong. Laura looks ridiculous when covered in flour with green frosting for eyebrows. But you have to admit, it's a pretty cute—" Shit, what had she been saying?
Carmilla stood up. “The fluorescent lights are killing my eyes. Want to get out of here?” She turned to toss her empty cup in the trash.
Danny blinked. “Uh, sure.” Carmilla wasn't sure where to go after this, but anywhere had to be better than there. Most of the Zeta jocks were still giving her a wide berth, and the freshmen class was new—and dumb—enough to actually believe their rumors about her. Carmilla was usually pleased to be left alone, but the stares and whispers had quickly grown tiresome.
Carmilla and Danny's phones buzzed simultaneously. How's it going? Good luck on your date you two! \o/
If you're going to grouptext us, you might as well be here.
Danny chuckled at Carmilla's quick response. Carmilla just rolled her eyes at you.
The aforementioned vampire gaped at the other woman. “Did you just tattle on me?” Carmilla had enough time to note the mischievous smirk on the redhead's face before Danny took off running, quickly scanning left and right for passersby before shifting onto all fours. Carmilla grinned, letting her fangs extend into game face. So it was going to be like that, huh?
To their credit, most of the Silas students wandering the campus after dark were unfazed by the sight of a black panther sprinting across the quad, following the grey wolf as she zigzagged between buildings into the Wandering Woods behind the Summer Society house.
In an outright race, Carmilla would have no problem outrunning the wolf, but Danny was just as nimble as the smaller jungle cat, and clearly more familiar with territory. Carmilla let out a pleased growl as she chased after the flash of red in the corner of her eye—she hadn't hunted like this in a long time, her muscles pumping and her vision narrowed down to just her prey before her, scampering between trees.
Eventually, Carmilla reached a small clearing, but Danny was nowhere to be found. She shifted back, and looked around, still on her guard. As a human, her enhanced senses were still nowhere as sharp as an animal's, but maybe—
Carmilla refrained from shouting aloud as all ninety pounds of wolf leaped out from the shadows and tackled her onto the ground. Really, she should have seen that coming—apparently getting tackled by Danny was to become a tradition for them.
“Arghh!” She did yell out then, as the wolf began licking her cheeks, happily breathing heavily onto her face. “Ugh, check your breath please.”
Danny ignored her, nipping at Carmilla's jaw with her muzzle instead. The brunette smiled in spite of herself, and reached up to scratch behind the wolf's ear, much to Danny's pleasure. Her fur was a beautiful shade of copper, redder than any other wolf Carmilla had ever seen, and just as soft to the touch as she had imagined.
For a while, she laid there on the grass and looked up into the night sky, absentmindedly petting the creature on top of her. Danny's tail swished back and forth as Carmilla scratched behind her neck, the gentle vibrations of her pleased growls almost more feline than canine. Carmilla was used to the human warmth of Laura's living body, but the werewolf's heat was more akin to a furnace. It was nice though; it reminded her of curling up around a fireplace the deep winter, like she did as a little girl.
“You're much friendlier this way. I like it.” Carmilla commented after a few minutes of silence. Danny snapped her teeth at the vampire in a bark.
“Come on, we'd better head back.” Danny obligingly rolled off her, and took off as soon as Carmilla shifted into her cat form, although this time at a more leisurely pace. They loped down the mountain, and it wasn't long before they reached the outskirts of campus where the Summer Society house stood.
Carmilla opted to wait outside while Danny stopped into her house for a change of clothing after shifting back to her human form. Being friendly with a slayer was still no reason to waltz into a their lair.
“Hey,” Danny flashed a smile at Carmilla when she came back outside through the heavy wooden front door. She and Laura had plans to work on their Fantastical Literature papers together, and Carmilla needed to stop by their shared room before heading to the philosophy tower for a TA session.
“Hey.” Carmilla smiled back at Danny. She tried to think of something as they walked along the well-lit path, but before she could anything suitably interesting—perhaps Danny would have an opinion on Hegel's master/slave dialectic—Danny interrupted the silence.
“Hey, is this...weird?” She asked.
“I don't see anything weird about attempting to date your asexual polyromantic girlfriend's undead partner.”
“Okay, fair point.” Danny laughed, and glanced over at the other woman. “This was fun though. We should do this again sometimes. I don't often get to let the wolf out.”
“Where are the other mutts in your Buffy club?”
Danny shrugged. “Just because we're sisters doesn't mean we get along as a pack. There are too many alphas around.”
“At least you're aware of that,” Carmilla smirked.
Danny, to her credit, gave Carmilla a sheepish grin. “I can't help it.” Carmilla at least could sympathize with that. She spent the first years of her vampiric life struggling against her more animalistic instincts, until mother had beaten the blood-rushing thrill of the chase into her.
“Tonight was fun,” she admitted instead. “Call me if you're ever in need of a hunting partner.”
“Yeah, that'd be really great.” Danny shot her another glance from beneath her eyelashes, smiling brightly at her. It was nice to see her doing that, reassuring to know that their antagonism last year had all but dissipated. Carmilla felt compelled to say—or do—something in response, but by then, they arrived at her room, where Laura was already inside.
Laura raised her eyebrow at Carmilla's disheveled appearance and Danny's changed clothing. “Looks like you two had fun.”
The supernatural beings looked at each other.
“Carmilla was attacked by a rabid werewolf,” Danny said.
“I only have a few hours to live,” Carmilla drawled. Laura threw a sock puppet at them.
*
Later, Danny wondered if she should have been less surprised to see Carmilla at her door, with her girlfriend nary in sight. It was the evening of Summer Society's Autumn Equinox Formal, and as Vice President (and one of the many Alpha werewolves in the house), Danny was all but required to have a date. Laura had originally been reluctant to attend, but changed her mind a few weeks prior, citing a curiosity about the society members Danny regularly complained about. Apparently, Danny was right to be suspicious over her usually introverted girlfriend's sudden change of heart.
But Carmilla was a vision in her strapless crimson gown, glints of silver adorning her neck and ears. Danny's brain quickly became preoccupied with not noticing the way that sweetheart neckline drew attention to the vampire's perky bosom, or the way her skirt flared out from the waist, emphasizing the curve of her hips. Her shoes were hidden by fabric, but Danny noticed that the vampire was several inches taller than before (the perfect height to lean down and kiss, her helpful hindbrain pointed out).
Danny realized she was staring, and licked her lips, her mouth suddenly dry. “Carmilla. You look. Pretty.”
“Thank you.” Carmilla said. “You're certainly a sight to behold yourself.” Danny didn't think much of her blue-black suit, but it was flattering to see the way Carmilla slowly eyed her up and down. She made a note to thank whichever sister convinced her to get her suits tailored.
“I wasn't expecting to see you tonight.” Danny said.
“Laura had a babysitting emergency. Professor Goldenloin was in a jousting accident, and now Dr. Blackheart is tending to him at the hospital. He's fine, you know how dramatic he can get.” Carmilla rolled her eyes. “Laura's with Nimona right now. She tried to call you, but your phone was off. Laura figured I'd be a good substitute replacement for the ball, since, you know.” She coughed.
“Sorry,” Danny said. “I had to do society stuff earlier. Secret rituals and spells, you know.” She waggled her fingers.
“Is that what you kids call it these days?” Carmilla drawled, smirking. Danny was suddenly aware of how pale her skin was, and how quickly she flushed.
She offered her arm out for Carmilla to tucked her elbow underneath Danny's, and the two of them descended down the spiraling staircase into the center of the festivities. The party was well underway by now, the first floor crowded with college students in various degrees of formality. Rhythmic music blasted from speakers in the adjacent living room, the dance floor spilling out into the foyer.
They received odd looks as they walked in, the whispers beginning almost immediately. Danny was grateful to see several of her sisters shutting down the gossip, jabbing with elbows when necessary. One particularly helpful sophomore even passed Danny a glass of wine as soon as her foot touched the floor landing, and another for Carmilla.
“Cheers,” Carmilla raised her drink with a sardonic smile. They drained their glasses, and were immediately handed another by the eager sophomore.
“Dance?” Danny asked.
Carmilla grabbed her by the wrist, leading her to the center of the living room. It wasn't hard to to lose herself to the sway of Carmilla's body and the wry grin on her face, her brown eyes sparking with challenge. She wasn't sure if the vampire was amused with—or at—her, but Danny grinned back anyway. Carmilla's vampiric grace meant her heels weren't a problem, and she rolled her hips in an impressive backbend, showing off just how flexible she was. But Danny pushed forward, tilting into the vampire's space. The brunette smirked and wrapped her arm and leg around Danny, pressing their hips together in a mimicry of a tango.
It was only obvious for Danny to wrap her arms around Carmilla's waist, bringing them chest to chest. Carmilla's hair smelled of bergamot and black currant, but beneath the fruits were hints of vanilla and brown sugar, like Laura's soap. Danny wanted to run her hand through those curls, tug on a ringlet to watch it bounce back.
Someone had enchanted the ceiling to look like the cosmos, balls of gas swirling and colliding just as the students were below. They danced for hours, until the formal officially ended at midnight.
Before Danny could ask Carmilla what she wanted to do, they were ushered downstairs for the afterparty with the rest of the herd.
“Are those mermaids?” Carmilla blinked.
The house was built not far from a large lake, and centuries ago, a pledge class dug tunnels to convert their basement into a magical water grotto. These days, it mostly housed an uncountable number of pixies, fairies, and sprites, but occasionally other creatures appeared. (Not uncountable in terms of quantity, but in the sense that they found it amusing to throw forget-me-dust on any sister who tried.) The pixies were feeling particularly feisty tonight, Danny noticed, tossing magical glitter indiscriminately in the air.
“Yeah, they sometimes swim over for parties. They say we have better drugs than anywhere else by the lake. Want me to introduce you?”
The mermaids were instantly smitten with Carmilla, their tails swishing with delight as they cooed over the attractive vampire's dry humor. Flicks of water droplet landed on Danny's pantsuit as she hovered over a sitting Carmilla, who had offered her palm out for a reading. But the blonde mermaid was more interested in gazing into Carmilla's eyes than at her hand. Blondie giggled as she traced the veins on Carmilla's wrist with a delicate finger, lightly scratching at soft skin. (Not that Danny had noticed how soft Carmilla's skin was earlier, when they touched.)
“I'm going to get another drink,” Danny said into Carmilla's ear, and walked off. She weaved her way through the crowd, arriving at the bar to see two familiar faces already there.
“Perry, LaFontaine,” She grinned at them. “I didn't expect to see you two here.”
“A certain someone needed to collect fairy dust.” Perry glared at her sweetheart, who shrugged sheepishly. “Where's Laura?”
“Oh, uh, she had a babysitting emergency. I'm here with Carmilla instead.”
Perry raised her eyebrow. “I thought you two—” she paused. “I thought Carmilla didn't like being in the Summer Society house. Cause, you know, of the whole slayer thing.” Perry trailed off, and turned to LaFontaine.
“Oh! Uh,” LaFontaine looked at their girlfriend, and then at Danny. “It's cool that you two are getting along now. I bet that makes Laura pretty happy.”
“Yeah,” Danny let herself smile. “Yeah, it's been really nice.” She held up her drink. “Well, better get back. See you at brunch Sunday.”
When she made her way back to the grotto, she noticed that Carmilla was no longer with the mermaids, instead cornered by Danny's least favorite sister. The vampire's facial expression was blank, but Danny could read the irritation in her body language as Elena jabbered on, oblivious—or more likely, indifferent—to the vampire's annoyance
“Hey,” Danny said, coming up from behind Carmilla. She caressed the small of Carmilla’s back with her fingertips as she brushed by, hoping the simple contact would be calming. For which of them, she wasn't sure.
“Hi Danny,” Elena said, drawing out the syllables of her name. “I was wondering where you were. Where's Laura tonight?”
“She had something else to do.” Carmilla said stiffly.
“Oh,” Elena smirked. “Has she found a third sup to sucker in and blue-ball?”
Danny growled, grabbing the other woman by the front of her halter. “Say that again.”
Carmilla stepped forward to stand next to Danny, her eyes hard. “I would advise you to think very carefully before opening your mouth. For the remainder of your lifetime.”
Elena opened her mouth, but only a squeak came out. Danny shoved her to the side, into her meathead boyfriend, and the two of them stumbled backwards, crashing into the wall.
Danny winched, feeling slightly guilty. Clearly, Elena was much drunker than the two of them. Not that it excused her behavior, but neither did it excuse Danny's.
“You alright?” She turned to Carmilla instead.
Carmilla rolled her eyes. “She literally did not touch me.”
That's not what I meant, Danny wanted to say, but she held up a mostly empty bottle of Johnny Walker Blue Label instead. “Drink anyway?”
Carmilla raised her eyebrow.
“Being veep lets you get away with a lot.”
They settled into a secluded area of the grotto, hidden away from the crowd. The alcove was small—Danny practically having to crawl to get in—but it was quiet, not even the usual imps milling about. Danny took a swig of the bottle and handed it to Carmilla, their knees knocking together in the process.
“Sorry about what a bitch Elena is,” Danny said.
Carmilla shrugged. “Fruit tart, if I were responsible for the behavior of my foster siblings, you and Laura would've burned me at stake by now.”
Danny cracked a smile at that. “Yeah, but it's still shitty how obnoxious people are about the whole thing.”
“Unsurprising. People are distrustful of the unknown,” Carmilla quirked her lips. “That aspect of humanity will never change.”
“How are things going with you?” Danny asked. “I mean, your other relationships. Are you seeing anyone else or anything?”
“Nah. Not really my style, sweetmeats. Reminds me too much of dear old mama.” Carmilla took a swig of the bottle, and handed it back to Danny. “And yourself?”
Danny shrugged. “Not really. I've thought about hooking up with a sister, but we already fuck each other over and cry about it too much as it is.” Carmilla snickered, a noise that startled Danny. She wasn't sure if she had ever heard such a uncomposed sound come out of the vampire before.
“Do you miss sex?” Carmilla asked. “I’ve heard wolves were quite the carnal creature.”
Danny blushed. “Sometimes Laura and I—sometimes Laura helps me out.” This made Carmilla pause, and she tilted her head at Danny inquisitively.
Danny could feel her face getting redder as images of their first time began to filter through her brain. They had been showering in Summer Society's large group shower, when Danny felt a glob of sudsy foam hit her back. She turned to glare at her tiny girlfriend, who giggled something about tomato payback before Danny had her pinned to the floor. The situation escalated from there, until Danny stammered for Laura to go ahead and finish her shower first; she’ll be along in a moment. Laura had grinned, commenting about “asexuality meaning different things to different people” before shoving her thigh between Danny’s legs.
“Have you and Laura ever had sex?” Danny asked Carmilla.
“No.” Carmilla shook her head. “We kiss and cuddle, but it's not something she wants, so it's not something I want.”
“Do you miss sex?” Danny asked.
“I was born in the seventeenth century. My first orgasm was on a steam locomotive.” Carmilla deadpanned. “I mean, don't get me wrong. I love sex. I'm great at it, even. But I don't need it, by any means. Not as long as I have Laura,” she said, that last part almost wistful. “Pretty sappy, huh?”
Danny nodded. “No, not at all. I can relate to that.” It had taken some time for Danny to get used to the idea, and so much effort and nights of conversation to make this thing between the three of them work. Danny was reluctant to break this fragile peace between the three of them.
She took another swig of whiskey, letting the liquid burn down her throat and set fire her to stomach. Her belly convulsed, and she felt suddenly full of adrenaline. Fuck it. Carmilla was watching her carefully, her hand still over Danny's. For a moment, Danny imagined cat ears twitching backwards and a long fluffy tail, swishing in the air.
Carmilla reached up to touch a strand of hair behind Danny's shoulder, and then pulled her body back, putting inches between them. “You're very drunk, aren't you?” Carmilla asked, her low voice curling around Danny.
“Uh, maybe?” Danny grinned, trying not to feel disappointed at the loss of the other womans presence, and looked at the bottle in her hand. It was mostly empty, but she was pretty sure it came that way. Before she could make a determination either way, one of the mermaids swam over, and splashed water at them.
“Why are you two being such wallflowers, hmm? Come over and play with us!” The mermaid giggled, fluttering her tail at them. Someone must have spiked the water stream because the mermaid was loose-limbed and pliant in the water, her fluttering wilder than usual. Before Danny could scold her for splashing about, her flirtation had thoroughly soaked the two college students in water.
“Gah!” Danny and Carmilla leaped back, but they were both already drenched.
“Whoops,” the mermaid giggled. “Sorry you two!” She ducked back down under water, and swam off, presumably to find other people with massive amounts of sexual tension to annoy.
“Come on,” Danny sighed. “I've got towels upstairs in my room.” There was a back stairway that would take them directly to her room, but first they had to make it out of the grotto. By the time they got pass the crowd, they were soused through with sweat, soda, and beer as well as water. Carmilla's face was twisted in disgust, and Danny got the sense that if one more person spilled their drink on her, Summer Society would lose another member tonight.
It was like a mirror of the first night Danny spent in Laura's room, Danny sitting in her pajamas thinking about anything except, Carmilla is in my shower. Carmilla, in my shower. When she came out, she was wearing one of Danny's sports hoodie and boxer shorts, Danny's pajamas obviously oversized on the smaller woman. Not that the hoodie was much better: she was swimming in it, the sleeves pushed all the way up and the fabric dropping to mid-thigh. Danny smiled at the sight. It ways easy to forget how tiny Carmilla actually was, given her vampiric presence, and the amount of time she spent near an even tinier Laura.
“Don't,” Carmilla glared at her. Danny's smile widened.
“What?” Danny asked innocently, and held up her phone. “Hang on, I'm just going to take a picture to remember who borrowed my stuff—” The look Carmilla shot her was so similar to that of an affronted cat that Danny burst out laughing, producing a blurry shot. She tried to take another, but Carmilla's hand shot out to to grab the phone. From there it was impossible not to turn it into a game of keep-away, unfairly using her height as an advantage over the shorter vampire. Carmilla growled and threw herself onto Danny, wrapping her legs around Danny's waist and using that as leverage as she tried to reach up. The surprise of Carmilla on top of her caused Danny to topple over onto her bed, Carmilla landing heavily against her. For a moment, there was no sound.
Was Carmilla holding her breath? Danny dizzily thought, before remember that vampires did not technically need to breathe.
“Hey,” she said.
“Hello,” Carmilla said, and tilted her face forward. Danny lifted her head to meet her, and suddenly their mouths were on each other, kissing with a hunger Danny hadn't felt since Laura. Carmilla bit into Danny's bottom lip and she moaned, opening her mouth to deepen the kiss. Their tongues wrestled for control as Carmilla ran her fingers through Danny's hair, tugging to pull her in closer. Danny responded in kind, her forearms framing Carmilla's face as she pushed herself up on her elbows for more leverage. Kissing the vampire was even better than what she had imagined, Carmilla wrapping an arm around her neck to pull her in close and curling her other hand over the curve of Danny's jaw, holding her firmly in place as their teeth scraped against each other.
“Well, Laura is going to be happy about this,” Danny said when they finally broke apart. On cue, Danny and Carmilla's phones buzzed simultaneously.
Dr. BH and Prof GL just got home. They paid me extra for the late notice long hours and everything, but UGHHH. Nimona was extra bratty tonight. I get it, she was worried about her dad, but ARGH. So exhausted, can haz cuddlez nao?
*
When Laura climbed into Danny's room through the window, she found her girlfriends sitting on opposite sides of Danny's large bed. Between them sat a bowl of popcorn, and Danny's laptop streaming an episode of Xena. They looked up when she entered. Danny held her arms out for a hug, while Carmilla motioned at the bedside table, toward a mug of steaming hot chocolate with a stick of peppermint, just the way she liked.
Laura dropped her shoulders, her jacket and backpack crashing immediately onto the floor. “You guys.” She sighed and sagged all her weight against Danny, who wrapped her arms around Laura and held her tightly. Danny, she decided, gave the best hugs.
“Your PJs are in the bathroom, and there's a beer in there if you want a cold beer with your warm shower.” Danny said. Carmilla just handed her the mug of chocolate. There were pink marshmallow hearts floating on top, the sugar half melted into the foam.
Laura grinned stupidly at the both of them.
“You guys,” she said again, and drained half the mug in one gulp. “Wait, was that peppermint schnapps in there?”
Carmilla smirked. “Go shower, pudding pop. You look like you got attacked by a marine glam rock clown aficionado.”
When Laura came back out, she found the lights dimmed and her girlfriends asleep, curled in towards each other. They left only inches of room between them, just enough for a tiny person to squeeze in.
Laura, she decided, has the best girlfriends.