Distraction
It was mid-afternoon on a Friday. The cafe was slower than usual, but Carmilla wasn't complaining. She had been distracted all week. Laura left Monday morning for a conference. The Army wanted her to speak about loss and overcoming it. Carmilla had to admit, she was relatively worried. Sending Laura back into that kind of environment was a risk for a trigger, but she had to hope for the best. She had to believe in her girlfriend.
She still worried.
The cafe owner was placing a cup of coffee down in front of a customer when the bell on the door jingled.
"Laura!" Livie exclaimed as she hopped off of her seat at the counter and ran toward the soldier. Carmilla's gaze shot up to see Livie throwing herself at Laura, who was dressed head to toe in her uniform. The blonde bent down on one knee and grinned as she held the little girl close.
Livie pulled back slightly, her hands still wrapped around Laura's neck. "You took too long," she pouted.
The soldier gave her a sad smile. "I know. How can I make it up to you?"
The little girl squinted as she thought for a few seconds. She then smiled broadly. "Take me to the park!"
Laura giggled at her excitement before reaching up and removing her officer visor; placing it on the little girl's head instead. It was too big and hung over her eyes for a moment before Laura adjusted it. "Yes, ma'am!" she said playfully with a salute. "Just let me say hello to your mom first, okay, Captain?"
Livie nodded eagerly, running past her mother and yelling, "We're going to the park, mommy!" as she headed for the apartment.
Carmilla watched her daughter disappear through the back door before turning to see the soldier walking toward her. The brunette's eyes raked over the woman in uniform and her heart sped up exponentially. She smirked and rested her hands on her own hips, cocking them to the side as she watched Laura get closer.
"You really did take your sweet time, huh?" Carmilla teased.
"Does that mean you missed me?" Laura grinned back, almost at arms length.
"As if I'd miss a pain in the ass like y-" her words were swallowed by Laura's mouth against hers. The soldier pulled her against her body fiercely, earning a whistle from Kirsch in the background. They chose to ignore him.
When the blonde pulled away, Carmilla was left breathless.
"I missed you too," Laura giggled.
The brunette sighed and reached up to tuck stray hairs behind the soldier's ear. "You're such a pain in the ass," she restated softly. Her eyes betrayed her words and Laura leaned in to kiss her gently.
Carmilla then looked down at the uniform and pulled slightly on the lapels. "You really did take too long though..."
Laura reached up and tilted the cafe owner's chin to look at her. "How can I make it up to you?" she said in a tone that sent shivers running up Carmilla's spine. The brunette swallowed down the effect Laura had on her.
"Don't do it again," she whispered back weakly.
The soldier's honey eyes widened. Her heart felt as if it grew and took over her entire chest. "If I have to go again, I'm taking you with me," she said gently.
Those words meant more to Carmilla than Laura would ever know. The brunette knew what it felt like to have Laura leave her. It was engraved into her bones from over a decade ago. But the idea of Laura not wanting to leave her again was shocking despite how far they've come. They had been dating for months now. They had confessed their love for one another. But the reassurance that Laura didn't want to leave her behind was such an inexplicable feeling; it was healing.
Livie came running back into the cafe and yanked on Laura's arm. In her other hand, she held a notebook to her side. The blonde chuckled at the little girl's enthusiasm. She bent down and threw Livie over her shoulder, earning a squeal from the little brunette.
"And of course we'll be taking this punk with us too," she grinned back at Carmilla before spinning around and heading toward the door.
Carmilla shook her head fondly as she watched them depart. "Be back in an hour!" she yelled after them.
Without turning around, Laura sent her a thumbs up over her head as Livie waved, still hanging over the soldier's shoulder. "Okay, mommy!"
The cafe owner sighed before getting back to work.
Laura continued to push Livie on the swing in the park for awhile. The girl still wearing the soldier's hat with pride. After listening to Livie prattle on about her week at school and how Tommy stole her favorite pencil, Laura glanced down at the notebook in the grass beside them.
"What's up with the notebook, squirt?" she asked as she continued to push the girl into the air.
"I brought it to draw!" she answered cheerfully. "You told me you liked to draw. And then mommy told me the other day that you're really good at it! So I thought you could teach me!"
Laura pulled the chains on the swing to stop it. Livie looked over her shoulder in question.
"She said I was good?" the blonde asked sheepishly.
The tiny Karnstein giggled. "Duh! Don't tell her I told you," she said with a mischievous grin.
Laura mirrored her smile. "What else does your mom say about me?"
"That you're a pain in the butt, but I don't think she means it."
The soldier scoffed, crossing her arms over her chest. "She can be such a grump."
Livie giggled. "Yeah, but that's not really her. She has to look tough."
Laura raised a brow at her as she watched her leave the swing and pick up the notebook. "Why does she have to look tough?"
The little girl looked up at her with a tilt of her head. "She doesn't like people to see her sad."
The blonde frowned. "She's sad?"
Livie shook her head rapidly. "No, no! Not anymore! She smiles all the time now!"
"That's good," Laura said with a sigh and soft smile of her own. She then furrowed her brows. "Did you used to see her sad?"
Livie nodded as she sat herself on the grass cross-legged. Laura followed suit. "She wouldn't do it on purpose. I saw her when she thought no one was looking." She then smiled. "I always went and gave her a big hug! And she'd squeeze me like a pancake! But it didn't hurt though. Did you know she's the best hugger?"
Laura chuckled. "She's a great hugger."
"She didn't like that you were gone all week. I missed you more though!" Livie exclaimed as she fixed the visor on her head.
"Well I missed you guys even more!" Laura argued with a smile as she picked a few blades of grass and threw them at the little girl in front of her.
Livie plucked some grass as well and threw them back at the soldier. "Nuh-uh!"
"Uh-huh!" the blonde answered in amusement as she continued the grass war.
"Fine," Livie caved quicker than expected. "But you have to have dinner with us tonight."
The soldier began to laugh. "Well if I have to..." That was her plan anyway. "How about we try to draw some things?" she asked, changing subjects.
They spent awhile trying to draw one another; the two facing each other and giggling as they tried to get noses and mouths right. Laura did huff a few times though. She had to try and draw while pressing the piece of paper, torn from the notebook, against her thigh. And the pencil Livie gave her lacked an eraser. She occasionally snatched the pencil Livie was using from her hand, earning a "Hey!" despite the giggle that followed.
"So, did you tell Laura yet?" LaFontaine asked, leaning against the cafe counter as they waited for Perry to end her workday.
"She's been back for a total of five seconds," Carmilla replied sharply.
The ginger ignored the tone in their friend's voice. "What do you think she's gonna say?"
The cafe owner sighed. "I know exactly what she's going to say."
"And that's why you sound like you wanna slam your face into the counter," Laf observed.
"Can't I make out with her first before I tell her?" the brunette whined.
"I guess you could, but Laura will probably be pissed you didn't tell her earlier than that."
Carmilla groaned and bowed her head onto the counter. "Go into the kitchen and pull your wife away from whatever appliance she's cleaning," she grumbled against the polished surface.
Laf chuckled and obeyed orders. They returned with a hand on Perry's arm as they pulled her from the kitchen. The cook was still holding a sponge in one hand. "Honey! JP won't clean it properly!"
"I'm sure he'll do his job just fine without you," Laf answered with a sigh.
Carmilla lifted her head to stare at the couple. She held out her hand for Perry to surrender the sponge. With a huff, Perry gave it to her.
"You're pregnant, Curly Sue. Can you take it easy for once in your life?" Carmilla asked in annoyance with a shake of her head. Perry was showing now and Carmilla couldn't understand why every time she entered the kitchen, she'd see her on her hands and knees scrubbing the floor or ducked halfway into the oven with some sort of cleaning agent.
"Fine. If you want your cafe to turn into a dirty pigsty, then I'll leave," she answered with her chin raised defiantly into the air.
"Sounds good to me," Carmilla replied carelessly. Perry frowned in response.
"Come on, Perr. We promised your folks we'd be there in ten minutes," Laf said with another gentle tug on their wife's arm.
"Okay, okay. Let's go."
"Later," Carmilla called after them as they waved back at her and left the building. Livie and Laura came through the door seconds later.
"Mommy! I drew Laura!" Livie exclaimed, running toward her mother as she held the notebook open.
"Oh really? Let me see," Carmilla answered as she leaned over the counter and took the notebook. "Wow! Look at that! It looks exactly like her!"
Livie giggled. "No it doesn't! I gave Laura a mustache!"
"I stand by my statement."
"Hey!" Laura interjected as Carmilla leaned over the counter to kiss her daughter on the forehead. She had to tilt the officer visor slightly before her lips made contact with skin. The brunette then smirked at the soldier and began to lean over to kiss her as well until Laura pulled back.
"I don't kiss mean people," the blonde said with a lift of her chin and arms crossed over her chest.
"That's surprising since you've definitely kissed me before," Carmilla answered with a raised brow and her smirk still on her lips.
Livie giggled. "You guys are gross." She then spotted her uncle across the cafe having a conversation with Danny. Livie quickly grabbed her notebook. "Uncle Will! I drew Laura with a mustache!" she yelled as she ran toward him.
Laura chuckled as she watched the little girl talk animatedly to Will and Danny. She then looked back at Carmilla, who was still smirking.
"She asked me to draw with her," Laura explained.
"And did you?"
The soldier reached into her uniform pants pocket and pulled out a folded piece of lined paper. She placed it on the counter. Carmilla looked down at it with a cocked brow before picking it up and unfolding it. Her mouth fell open slightly.
On the paper was her little girl. Gentle and innocent. It was beautiful.
Her eyes danced over the image. "This is..."
"Had to use my thigh as a surface, so..."
Carmilla shook her head, looking up to meet her eyes. "Laura, this is beautiful." She looked back down at the drawing. "I'm keeping this."
Laura rolled her eyes. "It's just a sketch, Carm."
"An amazing sketch," she defended. "Of my daughter. Drawn by my girlfriend." Her stare was piercing, and Laura forced a swallow. "I'm keeping it."
The soldier bowed her head. "Okay," she said softly. A blush took over her cheeks. She cleared her throat before looking back at the brunette. "So, Livie told me I have to have dinner with you guys tonight."
Carmilla smirked. "My daughter is the best wing woman, I swear."
Laura chuckled. "As if I wasn't already going to spend the rest of the day with you anyway."
Carmilla lifted an elegant brow. "The day? What about the night?"
The soldier grinned. "Well I didn't want to be presumptuous."
The cafe owner leaned further onto the counter, which made Laura do the same. "By all means, be presumptuous," she answered, their eyes fixed on the other's lips.
"Okay, enough with that! People are trying to eat here," Will called out as he came around the counter to fill up a cup of coffee. Carmilla glared at him, while Laura just giggled.
"Congratulations, by the way," the soldier said to him. He looked at her as if she had two heads.
Carmilla rolled her eyes. "On graduating, numb nuts."
"Oh!" he said with a grin. "Yeah! Thanks! Although I'm apparently still working at this fine establishment," he gestured at the cafe.
"Hey! There's nothing wrong with this fine establishment!" Carmilla barked at him. "You have a meeting with mother in a half hour anyway. Quit whining."
"Going into the family business?" Laura asked as she rested her chin on the heel of her palm.
Will nodded. "Mattie's supposedly taking me with her tomorrow for a conference meeting."
"Sounds thrilling," Carmilla said in a monotone.
Laura swatted at Carmilla's arm. "I think you're gonna do great, Will."
He smiled genuinely; that affectionate Karnstein smile. "Thanks, Hollis. Can you be my sister instead of this cranky lady?" he gestured his thumb toward the brunette. Carmilla simply rolled her eyes as Laura chuckled. "Although seeing how gross you two are, you'll probably be my sister soon enough," he added as he took off his apron. The cafe owner picked it up immediately and pegged it at his back as he left behind the counter with the cup of coffee. He only laughed in response.
Laura was still resting her chin on her hand when Carmilla turned back to her. Only now she was grinning. "Is your brother suggesting we're getting married soon?" The brunette rolled her eyes yet again, but Laura continued. "I wasn't aware you were so desperate to tie me down."
"Cupcake, we're no strangers to bondage," Carmilla replied with a devilish smirk.
The soldier shook her head despite smiling at the woman in front of her. "You really have no shame."
Carmilla leaned further over the counter and lowered her voice. "If you only knew the things that uniform is making me want to do to you..."
A shiver ran up Laura's spine. She cleared her throat and looked around to see if anyone could hear them. She leaned closer to Carmilla. "Care to fill me in?"
The brunette bit her bottom lip to try and prevent the smile from growing across her lips. "Let's just say I'm very grateful for your service."
Laura began to laugh. "So you're only attracted to me because of the uniform. I see how it is."
"Trust me, Cap," Carmilla's eyes trailed up and down Laura's body before locking eyes, "I like what's under the uniform a lot more."
Laura took a very deep breath. "Okay, I'm gonna need you to tone it down a bit if I have to wait a few hours before I can touch you."
Carmilla chuckled. "Flustered?"
"I've been flustered all week since you decided to torture me with a picture every night."
The brunette shrugged. "Just making sure you knew what you were missing."
The soldier scoffed. "Your body is the last thing I'd forget." Carmilla grinned before JP came out of the kitchen to talk about food shipments. Danny walked up to the counter to greet Laura.
"Hey, Hollis. I see you decided to shave the 'stache." Laura began to smile before Carmilla interrupted. JP returned to the kitchen.
"Wow. Topnotch comedy, Pepper Ann."
Danny glared at Carmilla. "Not everyone finds being an asshole as humorous as you do."
She smirked. "You've always been jealous. Not my fault chicks dig assholes."
Danny rolled her eyes. "The universe's cruel joke."
"See? Even the universe has better jokes than you."
"Eat a dick, Karnstein."
"Only if it's Laura's."
Suddenly, Kirsch's hand was on Laura's shoulder. She looked over at him in surprise.
"Isn't it impressive how far they've come in ten years?" he grinned as his eyes moved from his girlfriend to Carmilla.
Laura let out a chuckle. "Actually, yeah." The insults remained, but at least it was playful now. "And for the record, I have female parts," the soldier felt the need to reassure the tall redhead.
"Don't I know it," Carmilla grinned.
"You're a mother!" Laura exclaimed incredulously, earning an eye roll from her girlfriend.
"She's still a pervy asshole," Danny added, crossing her arms over her chest. "That's not gonna change."
"Well as much fun as this is, I came to steal my girl," Kirsch spoke up.
Danny lifted a brow. "Am I your property?"
His eyes widened and mouth hung open. "No- I just meant- You're no one's property-"
"Kirsch," she cut him off. "Let's go," she smiled before leaning in, kissing his cheek and walking toward the exit.
He blinked a few times before a goofy smile took over his face. "See ya, guys," he said before following her out.
Carmilla scoffed. "He's so whipped."
"So are you." The cafe owner locked eyes with Laura; her brows raised toward her hairline. Laura grinned at the reaction. "I've got you right where I want you."
"Oh really? And where's that?"
Laura leaned very far over the counter. Her voice dropped after licking her lips. Carmilla watched her tongue too desperately. "Ten seconds from proposing, and five seconds from screaming my name with my mouth between your legs."
Carmilla bowed her head immediately, releasing a loud groan. She shot her head back up and stared at the soldier with wide eyes. "How am I not supposed to be a perv when you say shit like that?!" The blonde began to giggle as she sat back down in her seat comfortably. "Also," Carmilla continued. "This is the second time marriage has come up in the past ten minutes."
"I was kidding, Karnstein. Don't have a coronary," the soldier continued to giggle.
Carmilla sat on the couch, her arm wrapped around Laura as the blonde tucked herself into the brunette's side. Livie was put to bed awhile ago. Carmilla knew this was the perfect moment to tell Laura about what happened with Ell. Carmilla had finally replied with an email. She sent it three days ago and got a response in the same day. But she never replied to that email. Ell asked if she could meet in person. And Carmilla was terrified of the thought.
Laura should know. She had become an important part of her and Livie's life. But there was something holding Carmilla back. Maybe she was scared. Part of her wanted to pretend Ell's email didn't exist. And telling Laura made it real. And knowing Laura, she would encourage them to meet.
But Carmilla was still so angry. Ell left. She left them. And she wasn't sure if she was ready to let go of that anger.
So Carmilla kissed her girlfriend. She got lost in her. She was forced to live a week without Laura and making up for that seemed more of a priority. She cared more about Laura anyway. God, she cared more about Laura.
It was embarrassing how much she loved her. Marriage was brought up twice that day, but Carmilla wasn't as paranoid as she had led on. It wasn't as if she hadn't imagined the three of them being a family together. They acted as one already. Carmilla couldn't even imagine being with anyone else now that she had Laura. She was everything Carmilla ever wanted.
She always was.
"I love you," Carmilla whispered after pulling her lips apart from the soldier's.
Laura slowly smiled at her; surprised by the sudden interruption. "I love you too," she returned with a small giggle.
"Thanks for coming back." Her eyes glistened with an intensity that made the blonde's heart ache.
"Carm..." she began, her hand raising to cup the brunette's cheek.
"Please," Carmilla said with furrowed brows before Laura could add anything. "Just kiss me."
Laura frowned before a sense of determination took over her features. And then, she kissed her. It was deep and passionate. She needed to ease Carmilla's worries and fears. She had to. She had to protect her from that pain. She didn't deserve to hurt anymore.
So the soldier laid the brunette down onto the couch; determined to help her forget.