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Laura bounced excitedly as she researched dating ideas online. They’d done all the classics already. Dinner date, movies, walks in the park…
“Carm.”
“Yes, cupcake?”
“Can we go to an aquarium? Please?”
Carmilla’s eyes widened and she closed her book, setting it in her lap. Her fingers clenched around the cover as she shifted uncomfortably.
“I don’t know about that, Laura.”
“Oh come on! It’ll be fun!”
Carmilla looked pale, her knuckles turning white as she gripped her book.
“If you really want to, I suppose.”
Laura leapt up from her chair, throwing her arms around Carmilla’s shoulders. The noise that came from her lips could only be described as a squeal.
The tension in Carmilla’s arms melted and she wrapped an arm around Laura’s waist, pulling the girl into her lap. She nuzzled her neck and smiled at the gasp she received.
“Carm. The aquarium—“
“Huge tanks of fish can wait, Hollis.”
Carmilla’s smirk was the last thing she saw before she started seeing stars.
Maybe if I wear her out, she won’t want to go.
A couple hours and a long, reluctant shower later, both girls were dressed and headed out. Laura practically dragged Carmilla to the ticket counter, whining when Carmilla slapped down her platinum card, pocketing Laura’s credit card.
“Why do you always do that?”
“Because I have hundreds of years worth of savings and I’d hate for you to have to go through the starving college student bit.”
“My dad’s going to start to wonder why he doesn’t need to put any money into my account.”
Carmilla shrugged, wrapping an arm around Laura’s shoulders.
“We gonna do this or what?”
“You’re making it seem like a chore, Carm.”
Carmilla frowned.
“Do you really think that?”
“You just don’t seem excited.”
“Laura,” Carmilla sighed, running a hand through her hair. “I know I don’t seem really excited. But since when was I ever the type to jump up and down over anything? Laura, of course I’m excited. I want to experience everything with you. No matter how silly and aquatic.”
And just like that, Laura very much related to a puddle. She slid her hand into Carmilla’s and bounced on the balls of her feet.
“Can we go inside?”
“Of course, cupcake,” Carmilla chuckled, letting her tiny human drag her into the building.
Immediately Carmilla was overwhelmed by the sheer volume of fish that assaulted her eyes. She felt her eyes beginning to dart around and follow one fish after another.
She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. It was gonna be a long day.
Laura took her toward a hallway of jellyfish and Carmilla felt her nerves calm. This she could handle.
“Carm look at this one!” Laura would call excitedly as she traced the lines of tentacles through the glass.
Carmilla silently thanked god that Laura couldn’t actually touch them.
“They’re so pretty.”
“Some boneless blobs with life-threatening tentacles have nothing on you, cutie.”
Carmilla saw Laura’s blush in the faint lighting of the exhibits.
The two of them stood and watched the jellyfish float around, tentacles drifting in the mild currents from the tank filters.
Being dragged by the hand, Carmilla followed a very eager Laura into a big, open hallway. The tanks stretched from floor to ceiling, filled with all kinds of fish and coral.
The vampire felt herself drawn to the glass as her eyes locked on a small, blue fish, darting around the tank in sporadic, swirling patterns.
Her nose was practically pressed to the glass as she followed the fish with her gaze.
Laura’s mouth dropped open at her girlfriend, now glued to the glass.
She watched as Carmilla’s fingertips twitched against the cool surface, her head tilting and turning as she followed the tiny fish.
The little whine that escaped Carmilla’s lips drew Laura’s attention.
“Carm…? Are you alright?”
“Come closer, you stupid little fish,” Carmilla growled.
“Carmilla. Why are you stalking the fish?”
“If he would just come closer then I could…”
“Carmilla. There is no way you can get to the fish. The glass is like… Two feet thick.”
Carmilla mumbled and snarled incoherently, pawing at the glass.
Laura took a step back and watched her start to pace back and forth. She pushed a kid out of the way to stay closer to her prey.
“You little gilled bastard. You’re taunting me. You know I can’t reach you. You’re doing this on purpose.”
“Carmilla, we need to move on.”
“Laura, I’ve almost got him.”
“Ma’am? Your friend is starting to cause a disturbance…”
“Just give me a minute,” Laura replied, wincing and apologizing to a group of very annoyed kids.
Laura sighed, grabbing Carmilla’s hand, pulling her away from the glass.
She whimpered as she tried to pull back toward the tank, desperate to finish her fight with the little fish. Her eyes were wild, her hands clenching and unclenching, her brows drawn together in frustration.
“Carmilla… What the hell is going on?” Laura hissed once they were far enough away from the tank.
“Laura, he started it.”
“Carm, ‘he’ is a fish.”
“He knew what he was doing when he challenged me.”
Laura shook her head, pinching the bridge of her nose. How could a three hundred year-old vampire be so bothered by a fish no larger than Laura’s index finger?
“Do you realize how weird this sounds?”
The wildness in Carmilla’s eyes started to calm, her hands relaxing.
“Oh god.”
“Earth to Carmilla?”
“Please tell me I didn’t stalk a fish.”
“That would be putting it mildly.”
“Oh my god. Laura, I’m so sorry. I’m so embarrassed.”
“Care to explain what we just witnessed? And by we, I mean myself, a group of children on a field trip, one of whom you pushed out of the way, and a security guard.”
“I just… It’s a… Cat… Thing,” Carmilla mumbled, closing her eyes.
“… You’re serious.”
“Most of the time any cat-like instincts that come from being able to transform into a cat are just fine. Birds I’m fine with, though they are assholes. I don’t chase bugs. I don’t want belly-rubs or anything. But fish…”
“Clearly.”
“I’m so sorry. I ruined our date.”
“It was… Actually really pretty funny. But for the sake of them revoking the month passes I bought, we should probably go.”
Carmilla nodded, looking sheepish.
Laura chuckled and leaned up to kiss her girlfriend soundly on the mouth.
“I’ll just take LaFontaine next time. We can check out the angler fish.”
“No.”
“… Carmilla, you don’t have to go.”
“No angler fish.”
“… Did you get into a spat with one or something?”
“… You could say that.”