Work Text:
She really wasn’t looking forward to this. She’d never even done this before. To say she was nervous was an understatement. She took a deep breath and knocked on the door that read 307.
Just the day before she’d gotten a call saying her manager had found her a job. An actual job. She desperately needed the money, and seeing as it was well paid… She had said yes, but as the hour of her appointment came closer, she wasn’t sure if it had been the right decision.
The door was opened by a fairly tall young man. He had blonde hair and some scruff from not shaving for a day or two.
“Hi! You must be Laura.” He smiled and had a friendly voice. She was immediately a bit more relaxed finding out that he was the photographer. He filled her in on the way to the room where they’d do the shoot. There was a big area with a lot of professional looking lights. They were set up to point at the tall and wide black background. Obviously that was where she’d have to stand and pose in a couple of hours.
She also found out his name was Spencer and that they were just doing a casual shoot. Nothing too dramatic. This wasn’t new to her since her agent had told her this on the phone, but it was nice to have conformation.
“We’ll get your hair and make-up done and introduce you to your partner.” You nodded along as he spoke but froze when he said partner. He did say partner, right?
“Uh, I’m sorry. Partner?” She knew nothing about this. She just thought it was going to be a clothing gig.
“Yeah… You weren’t informed? You do know what this shoot is about right?” Spencer looked at her with a confused look. He was not angry at all though. He just seemed a bit concerned.
“Apparently I don’t.” She couldn’t hold back the scoff. Of course this happened to her. “Wait, I don’t have to get naked do I?” Her eyes widened and for some reason, Spencer found this amusing.
“No,” he laughed, “Don’t worry. It’s just a project I’m working on. Nothing of that sort.” Spencer laughed as he showed her to the make-up room.
“So… What exactly do you expect of me?” Laura asked carefully. Though she’d never done a modeling job before, she was going to try her best and make it work.
“My idea was to just photograph people and then make a short about it afterwards. Most times it’s the other way around, but this is much more interesting.”
Laura considered this for a moment. She nodded and added an ‘okay’. So she could just be herself. Not a problem.
“We’ll just take a couple of shots of you on your own first. Then we’ll get you up there with your partner and we’ll see how it goes. Don’t worry. You’ll be fine.” Spencer informed and then went back into the other room, leaving her to meet with the make-up artist.
The make-up artist was really kind and obviously very good at her job. She did the most amazing things. She was covering up spots, or any redness she’d never been able to hide herself. Then the hair stylist came and with the lightest touch, he’d created the most beautiful look she’d ever worn. That’s what she thought at least.
Spencer came to inform her that she was up first, since her partner was late. He didn’t seem too happy about it but murmured something along the lines of: I should have known.
She gave the woman helping her with her wardrobe a look but she laughed and shook her head.
“Don’t ask. The model you’re going to be working with has a bit of a reputation.” She said it like it was nothing. To Laura, it sounded like a whole lot.
“What do you mean… reputation?” Her voice was a pitch higher than she’d meant it to be and she had to swallow to compose herself.
“Oh, you know. She’s always late to sets. In the business they joke she’s a vampire because she never does any shoots before one pm. She sometimes brings her own wardrobe, which doesn’t please every photographer, but Spencer and her get along for some reason.” The woman seemed to notice Laura’s shift in behavior because she put a hand on Laura’s shoulder which made her look up.
“Don’t worry, Laura. She’s really good at what she does. And hey, she picked you special so it shouldn’t be a problem.” The lady whose name Laura kept forgetting said it as if it was a minor thing but Laura did a double take.
“Wait what?” She gave the woman a confused look. “She chose me? To do this job with her? Why?”
The woman shrugged. “I don’t know. All I know is that she asked Spencer to book you for this job.”
“But I don’t even know her… At least, I don’t think I do.” Laura started to wonder who this mystery girl was. “What’s her name?”
“Carmilla. Carmilla Karnstein.” The woman handed her another pair of clothes. It was a suit like attire from what Laura could see. But the moment she heard what the name of her partner was she froze.
“You mean I’m working with The Carmilla Karnstein?” Her eyes went wide and her words wouldn’t quite come out right. She was shocked. The Carmilla chose her out of all models to work with her on this shoot? She was speechless. To say that she knew Carmilla was an understatement. She knew she was rebellious from all the stories she’d heard, but she always told herself never to judge a person before meeting them. She never thought, not even in her wildest dreams, she’d meet the girl who she had admired for so long.
It was Spencer who eventually snapped her out of her thoughts.
“You ready, Laura?”
“Um yeah, just let me change into this outfit. I like this one more than the others. I’ll be right out.” She shook her head slightly to herself as to say: ‘Hey, snap out of it. You’ve got a job to do.’
She got changed and walked out into the studio. She was holding her breath as she realized she might meet Carmilla now, but she wasn’t there yet. She regarded the clock. It was two hours after she had arrived. If Carmilla had been given the same hour, she was really running late.
But now, it was time for her to shine. Quite literally actually. As she stood in the middle of the set, there were a lot of lights pointing at her and a lot of people buzzing behind the set. Some were making sure the lighting was to Spencer’s liking, others were standing by with some kind of carton board? She wasn’t sure.
She just did a couple of shots as Spencer directed her and after about five minutes, she started getting more comfortable. She was having fun. She was doing the craziest poses and the most ridiculously overacted ones followed soon afterwards. Then Spencer had this idea that she just loved.
He asked one of the men behind him to climb the ladder standing near the light and to make her hair blow back as she mimicked a flying motion with her arms. She couldn’t keep a straight face for long as she burst out laughing.
It was then that a dark dressed figure appeared in the doorway of the room. Carmilla Karnstein. Holy shit.
She looked absolutely stunning with her black- wait, are those lea- jup, leather pants. She wore a black t-shirt with short sleeves and a leather sleeveless jacket over that. She was looking right back at Laura and it gave Laura the urge to look away. She did, but only briefly. She simply couldn’t get over how beautiful Carmilla looked.
Of course Carmilla noticed her staring too and gave Laura a sly wink before turning around and walking to the make-up station.
Laura was still looking at the doorway when she heard Spencer say something.
“Well, this should be interesting.” He smiled and Laura blushed. Spencer took advantage of this and snapped a few shots before looking over them and smiling.
“Beautiful.”
Laura went back to work after that, determined not to let herself be caught like that again. She had her moment, now it was back to work.
--
A few moments later, Carmilla walked back into the room. Spencer declared that Laura could take a break of about half an hour while he would do the single shoot with Carmilla. Laura happily took the water bottle from one of the assistants and thanked them.
She’d been having fun but she could use a break from the bright lights. It was starting to get hot.
Carmilla came towards her but only brushed lightly against her as she walked past Laura. The dark brunette licked and bit her lower lip as she looked Laura dead in the eyes. Laura swallowed and turned around. She needed to cool down, and fast.
“Where’s the restroom?” She asked one of the two assistants and sped towards the direction they pointed at.
She paced around for a while, trying to gather her thoughts.
“If I’m going to do this, I have to do it right. I mean, I only have one shot at this right? Oh this is so not helping…” She groaned at herself and put her elbow on the sink. She wanted to let her head fall into her hands but then she considered the make-up she was wearing and decided on clasping her hands together instead.
She looked at herself in the mirror and sighed. “Come on Hollis. You can do this. It’s just a photoshoot. Yup, just that.” She took a deep breath and straightened up.
As she was looking at herself in the mirror, she found herself really liking the outfit. It was still her, yet a bit dressier. The tiny blue giraffes on the blouse made the outfit a little less serious and a bit more fun. Otherwise she was just wearing a dress suit. Well, not that it’s just a dress suit. She loved suits on women… Okay Hollis, not the point.
She managed to make herself chuckle as she thought of how stupid her inner dialog must sound to someone else. She smiled at herself in the mirror once more before walking out of the bathroom, just a tad more confident than before and maybe a little more sway in her hips.
--
After about twenty more minutes after her little speech to herself in the bathroom, it was time to shoot with Carmilla. She hadn’t lost her confidence from before just yet.
As she walked on the set again, she told herself she could do this, before turning around to look at Spencer.
“Okay ladies. Just do whatever you want to do. You can even talk to each other. Be you. That’s the essential part of this shoot.” He smiled and got behind his camera again.
Laura didn’t really know where to begin at first. Carmilla turned towards her and let the corner of her mouth twitch up.
“Hey. I’m your partner for today, sweetheart.” Laura noticed that her eyes were a very dark brown. Not that she hadn’t noticed on pictures before… but in real life, they were so stunning.
“Uh- Hi.” Great start, Laura. Just great. “I’m Laura. You must be Carmilla.”
“Must I be?” Carmilla’s voice was low and mysterious. The comment wasn’t mean or heavy. It sounded quite flirty actually…
Laura just forced a smile and said: “Let’s do this, shall we?” She looked straight into the camera as Spencer took a few shots. Carmilla took a step closer and put an arm around her neck.
Inside, Laura felt like screaming. On the outside, she kept looking at Spencer and his camera.
Focus, Laura. Don’t- No, don’t look at her lips. Don’t look. Just keep your eyes on Spencer.
Carmilla’s hand settled on her shoulder as she too looked at Spencer.
Carmilla was taller than her, which isn’t a surprise really. Everyone is taller than tiny Laura. But Laura figured it must be their shoes too. Carmilla wore black boots while she was wearing thin flats. Carmilla wouldn’t be that much taller without the boots. She kind of liked that. She always thought Carmilla was very tall.
Laura saw one of the two assistants disappear from the room as the other dimmed all the lights except for the spots. Suddenly, she couldn’t see anything other than Carmilla, who was still standing very close to her, and spencer’s camera lens.
She decided to try something as she stepped away from Carmilla, to the opposite side of the set. She whispered something to Spencer as he nodded. Seconds later, music started playing loud enough to enjoy, but not too loud so that she wouldn’t be able to focus.
Carmilla sat on the bar stool that stood in the right corner of the set. She was looking at Laura with a slight look of confusion on her face. Laura just moved to the beat and turned back to Carmilla. She motioned for Carmilla to get off the bar stool and come towards her. Carmilla seemed to hesitate for a moment before moving off the stool and joining Laura.
She took one of Laura’s hands and pulled it upwards so that Laura twirled into her.
Laura was now standing with her back towards Carmilla as the slightly taller girl stepped even closer. Laura felt her put a hand on her right shoulder, traveling to her neck. She couldn’t help but avert her gaze to watch Carmilla out of the corner of her eyes. Carmilla’s lips were slightly parted and her eyes seemed fixed on her neck.
Laura took a breath as the hand on her neck moved. The fingertips were brushing her skin so softly it made her skin tingle. Carmilla’s left hand traveled down from her upper arm to her lower arm, to her hand. Carmilla’s hands were cold against hers, but it felt surprisingly good against her skin. Their fingers laced as Laura’s other hand grabbed the side of Carmilla’s leg behind her.
What was this girl doing to her?
Just a moment after she asked herself that question, Carmilla’s lips hovered right next to her ear. The combination of her low voice and the air brushing against her ear made her shiver as Carmilla said something in her ear.
“Is this okay with you?”
Laura had expected a lot, but not this. Was she really asking her if she was okay with the woman she’d dreamed of so many nights, touching her? Laura smiled and bit her lip at the thought. It was cute and respectful. She liked that.
She nodded and hummed. It’s all she found herself capable of doing, but she figured the ‘yes’ was clear.
“Do you trust me?” Her voice was magic to her ears.
Right now, Laura didn’t even feel like questioning this. Though she had basically just met the woman, the answer was a clear yes. She nodded again in response.
She saw Carmilla smile from the corner of her eyes. The hand that was laced with hers loosened its grip and trailed back up to her shoulder. Carmilla’s nails lightly scratched her skin as she pulled the hair back from Laura’s shoulder.
“If you don’t like this, stop me any time, Creampuff.” Carmilla said and before Laura could wonder what she was talking about, she felt soft lips being placed on her neck. She gasped a little in surprise.
Her mind that was flooded before seemed almost empty right now. The only thing on her mind was Carmilla.
The soft lips moved down her neck to the point where her shoulder met her neck. There, Carmilla lingered before nipping at the skin. Laura couldn’t help her eyes rolling back and biting her lip. She let her head fall back against Carmilla’s shoulder as the dark brunette kept doing amazing things to that particular spot.
She almost whined when Carmilla moved on to another spot. She’d sure noticed the whimper Laura let out because she smirked.
“You like that, Cupcake?” She noticed the teasing tone Carmilla used and before her mind could convince her otherwise, she spun around and looked Carmilla straight in the eyes.
“Not as much as I’m going to like this.”
For a second, Carmilla showed surprise. It was soon replaced by a softer, much more mysterious look as Laura put her own lips to use. After a few butterfly kisses, she found Carmilla’s pulse point and decided to linger there.
She nipped at the skin before soothing it with her tongue. Her hands were now at Carmilla’s waist, and shoulder. She held her close so Carmilla wouldn’t dare move. Carmilla’s hands were roaming. One of them had found their way into her hair while the other was at the small of her back.
Laura decided to stop sucking at the skin when she realized she probably left a purple mark on the pale white skin. She moved up Carmilla’s neck right to her earlobe. She couldn’t keep herself from smiling as she looked down at the mark forming.
She lifted her head and looked at the brunette who was staring back at her. Their gaze never left the other’s as their head’s moved closer. Their foreheads met as their noses brushed slightly.
Both of their breathing seemed to have deepened as their mouths were only millimeters apart. Their breath mingled together as they both looked down. Neither of them spoke. Neither of them laughed. Their arms circled each other and kept the other close as their mouths were close but never touched.
Their eyes locked once more and Laura could swear time stood still for what felt like the longest time. The dark brown seemed to consume her as her breath hitched.
Carmilla looked like she was in the same situation as for the longest time, there was no sound surrounding them. It was just Laura and Carmilla, brown and dark brown, vanilla and cinnamon, light and dark.
Laura lifted her head just slightly as her mouth parted.
A loud crack and voices made her fly back towards the other end of the set. Carmilla just stood in the same position as only seconds ago, only now her arms were hanging by her side and her gaze had an element of sadness in it.
Their attention was averted to Spencer as he groaned and looked back at the assistants who just walked in.
“You ruined a perfect moment, Lynn!” He stood up and switched the lights of the room back on. “Thanks.” He said, sarcasm dripping off of it.
Lynn, the wardrobe woman whose name Laura kept forgetting, looked from Spencer to the flushed Laura, to Carmilla still nailed to the ground. “Sorry…”
What the hell just happened?