Chemistree

The movies were generic and boring, and Carmilla would’ve started to doze off if it weren’t for the tiny blonde crammed against her side. Seating was limited in the Casa de Hollis, but Carmilla smugly noticed there was more than enough room on the loveseat for the two of them not to be touching.

Her heart rate picked up when Laura slyly slid her hand from her lap onto Carmilla’s leg, palming facing back at her. Carmilla gulped. She couldn’t wipe her now sweaty palm on her jeans without Laura noticing. It was go big or go home.

Slowly, watching for signs of disapproval, she lifted her hand under Laura’s arms and into her waiting palm, interlocking their fingers. Chancing a glance at the blonde’s face, her heart beat a little harder when she saw the small smile playing on her lips.

Laura leaned her head over onto Carmilla’s shoulder, and the two relaxed into the cushions for the remainder of the ridiculous marathon.

It was 2 days until Christmas when Carmilla heard from Laura again. She was snuggled quite comfortably in her oversized bed when she heard persistent knocking at her door. Carmilla pulled her blanket over her head and willed the person to leave, but the loud pounds were not ending anytime soon.

She groaned loudly and dragged her body to the door, scowl in place.

“What the hell do you- oh. Hey Cupcake,” she croaked in her sleepy voice.

Laura’s smile was blinding. “Get dressed sleepy head; we’re going out!”

Carmilla couldn’t help the smirk that formed on her face. “Oh we are, are we?”

Laura only nodded, unfazed by her smoldering gaze, and held up a knit hat with black kitten ears. Carmilla just shook her head, eyes not leaving the offending clothing garment.

“Yeah, now get your cute butt in something warm and take a walk with me! It’s the first snow of the season!”

“So you think I’m cute, huh?” Carmilla laughed as a red faced Laura just shoved her back inside her apartment with instructions to meet her outside in 10 minutes.

When Carmilla got outside, she squinted at the reflective light in the snow.

“Oh geez, I’m going to go blind...Cupcake where’d you go?”

Carmilla barely had time to finish the sentence before she was smacked in the face by a cold, powdery, frozen sphere.

She sputtered in surprise as Laura nearly toppled over laughing from her hidden post behind a garbage can.

“Oh, you’ll pay for that!” Laura squealed as Carmilla charge at her, scooping up snow in her bare hands.

“Get back here, Cremepuff!”

“Carm, please! I’m sorry!” Laura laughed as she continued to dip and dodge the brunette.

“Raaaaaaah!” Carmilla suddenly dove for Laura’s feet, tackling them both to the ground. The girls fell in a mess of limbs into a dirty snow pile in the yard of the complex. Carmilla quickly climbed over Laura, holding her wrists in one hand to stop her escape.

Laura’s breath hitched as Carmilla’s face was at such close proximity. Her brows rose as Carmilla leaned in towards her head.

She could feel Carmilla’s warm breath against her lips. “You’ll pay for that stunt, Cupcake.”

Then Carmilla quickly yanked Laura’s coat forwards and shoved a handful of partially melted snow down her front.

After payback and more frolicking (that Carmilla would deny to her grave), the pair were surprised by the early winter sunset. When Laura started to head back to the building, Carmilla tugged her hand back to her and nodded towards the trail to the nearby park.

The couple walked hand in cold hand for a while before Laura spoke.

“Tell me something.”

“What do you want to know?”

“You. I want to know about you.”

She paused. “There’s not much to tell, Cremepuff. I don’t leave my apartment enough, I have a philosophy masters I’ll never utilize, and I write things that happen to sell,” she shrugged.

“Oh please, there’s so much more to you Carm. I know you’re so much more than that Belle Dame san Merci vibe you like to give off whenever Silas residents get within a 10 feet radius. I’ve known that from day 1 in that elevator.” Laura surmised.

Carmilla smiled to herself, her chest aching for the girl gripping her hand like it was the only thing tethering her to this world.

“Well, I love the stars. If I weren’t so pretentious I would have been an astronomy major,” she chuckled. “I have a special place in my heart for Goethe, but I only read it in his native Deutsch.”

Carmilla stopped walking, and Laura’s hand slipped out of hers. She turned back towards Carmilla, confused.

“And I am a phenomenal dancer.” Carmilla smiled at her and held out her hand.

Laura bit her lip to hide the grin that would almost certainly made her look like a damn fool. Carmilla didn’t mind one bit. She placed her hand in Carmilla’s outstretched one and was immediately pulled chest to chest and whirled around.

They danced to no music under the dim glow of the park lights, and neither noticed their cheeks beginning to sting from the cold or the rapid thumping in their chests when Carmilla slowly dipped Laura low, cradling her back carefully.  

Laura spent Christmas day with her father, and Carmilla tolerated her siblings and mother as long as she could before she found herself back at her own doorstep fumbling for her keys. A small bag was hanging on her door.

Confused, she took the bag inside and opened it up.

She couldn’t help the prickling behind her eyes as she pulled out a specially illustrated copy of Kipling’s “Jungle Book,” with a post-it note on the front with a short and sweet:

Go get your girl. Merry Christmas Carm-sexy.

-Love your secret bro-Santa

“What an idiot,” she muttered to herself with a watery laugh.

She immediately hopped up from her couch and grabbed Laura’s present from her counter, running down the hall to the familiar apartment 307.  

Knocking lightly on the door, she rocked back and forth on her heels.

Laura opened the door and a warm smile was instantly painted on her face.

“Carm!”

“Merry Christmas, cutie. I’m your secret santa.” She thrust the bag towards Laura, who looked startled. “Open it,” she encouraged.

Laura peered inside the bag and gasped quietly. She reached inside and pulled out two pre-registration badges for the spring comic-con.

“I figured we could go together. You can dress up like Lois Lane if you want, and I won’t even tease you at all!” She reconsidered the statement. “Okay, maybe a little bit.”

“Carm.”

“I mean you don’t HAVE to go with me; you can bring whoever you want,” Carmilla backpedaled.

“Carm.”

“Like Xena or Frankenstein,” she continued to ramble.

“Carm.”

“Or you can even sell those passes if you want and get something. I probably have a receipt…”

“Carmilla!” Carmilla looked at her with wide eyes. “Look up.”

She tilted her head back and saw the sprig of green dangling above them.

“Smooth, Sundance, very smooth.” She laughed softy despite her rapid heart beats before leaning in slowly and pressing her mouth gently against Laura’s, who sighed into her and pulled her in closer by the collar of her sweater.

Laura broke her mouth away after what felt like too soon, but stayed close.

“Merry Christmas Carm,” she whispered against her lips.

Carmilla just grinned and swooped down to reconnect her mouth to Laura’s again.