Stars In Her Eyes

EARLY RELEASE FOR PATRONS! THANKS AGAIN EVERYONE!

I'll hopefully write some more Carmilla once season 2 starts! But if this series isn't what you're here for, then don't worry. I'm still posting the same amount of RWBY fics.

Disclaimer: I do not own Carmilla

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							Stars In Her Eyes

Laura still felt it was pleasantly odd to consider how much had changed within the course of only a few days.

Pleasantly odd because it had been more than a little disconcerting and excruciating at the time, but now all of that was in the past, and only the good things were at hand.

And, believe it or not, she kind of had Carmilla's jerk of a mother Dean to thank for all of it. If not for the whole shveal with the cranky, abusive, billion-something-year-old cretin, a lot of things would be different right now.

For example, her moody, broody vampire roommate would still be just her roommate.

But now, Carmilla was her moody, broody vampire girlfriend.

And rather than spending the twilight hours inside their dorm room hatching plans to thwart a diabolical monster demoness and researching about demon swords and what have you, tonight could thankfully be spent in a bit of a nicer way.

A lot nicer way, actually.

How much nicer could it get than this, after all? Lying outside in the cool, soft grass together with only the vast expanse of the velvet ocean of stars overhead was pretty darn nice.

There was a bit of artificial light a dozen or so yards away, coming from the bulbs that illuminated the campus buildings. But out in the middle of the courtyard, the majority of the light was coming from the sky.

Things were still winding down after the whole Dean incident. Carmilla had been hurt in the massive battle, and although enthralled and elated beyond belief to have her back and to be able to kiss her as much as she pleased now, Laura made absolutely certain that nursing her back to health had been prioritized.

For the past few days, it had been a lot of necessary bed-rest and wound-healing on Carmilla's part, and Laura had to discreetly sneak out to fetch her blood the other night. But more often than not, she found her own neck would suffice, and didn't mind sharing at all.

Even her suggestion of stargazing tonight had been for the sake of Carmilla's recovery. Being cooped up in their stuffy dorm room for four days now was good in a sense that her roommate wasn't suffering from unnecessary stress or risking aggravating her wounds, but it was serving to make her a bit stir-crazy.

So Laura had gently slung the vampire's arm across her shoulders and hauled Carmilla to her feet, ignoring the questions of "what are you doing" and "where are you taking me" until she'd dragged her girlfriend to this very spot.

Only then had she met Carmilla's puzzled gaze with a smile.

"Stargazing!" Laura declared.

She knew how much Carmilla loved the stars, and she hoped that bringing her out for some fresh air tonight would help her relax.

So after a bit of grunting and groaning to help the dark-haired girl sit and lie down, Laura had plopped down beside her, which brought them to the present.

The sky was clear tonight, but she couldn't see the stars just yet – not with her inferior human vision, anyway. However, judging by her intensely-focused gaze, Carmilla could make out a bit more than Laura herself could.

And that was alright, because for now, Laura was perfectly content with admiring her girlfriend rather than the stars.

Carmilla was wearing a dark gray flannel jacket and a loose, black crop-top that rose and fell in time with her breathing. Laura had forbidden corsets and other tighter pieces for at least a week until she could be certain Carmilla's wounds had healed, and to her surprise, the vampire hadn't argued with her on that.

Which led Laura to assume Carmilla's injuries were a bit more debilitating than she might've liked to believe, but she knew they would heal in time.

She'd just have to be patient, and until then, she was totally permitted to baby Carmilla and pamper her as much as her heart desired. Because they were now girlfriends and Laura didn't have to conceal her affections or concerns any longer.

And because Carmilla was still a bit too exhausted to stop her.

Laura inched her hand across the few inches of grass separating herself from Carmilla. She found her girlfriend's hand at her side, and casually slipped her palm on top, entwining their fingers and squeezing lightly in hopes to gain her attention.

Luckily, she noticed those ebony irises tear away from the sky for just a second in order to flash her way instead.

"What's up?"

Carmilla's voice was still a bit enervated – understandably so, considering what she was recovering from – but ever since Laura had gotten her back, there'd been a bit of spunk to it she'd never had the pleasure of hearing before. Recognizing it again now only made her smile widen.

"Oh, nothing much. Just wondering if you're having fun with this. Can you see them?" she wondered.

Carmilla's gaze returned to the stars.

"Yeah. They're still kind of faint right now, but in a little while they'll be easier to see."

"Good!" Laura was glad she'd selected a clear, cloudless night for this, otherwise it would've all been for naught. She scooched a bit closer, using her free hand to pull her hair over one shoulder so it wouldn't get knotted with grass. "Soooo~"

Laura hummed in that way that sounded as though she were trying to be somewhat seductive. It caught Carmilla's attention enough to have her looking back into her eyes.

"What now?" she had to ask.

Laura propped herself up on her elbow, hovering slightly over her girlfriend.

"You hungry?"

It might've been a bit more seductive if she'd said it in a low, husky voice with her neck tantalizingly exposed. But the way she said it just sounded like a middle schooler excited to get on the lunch line for pizza.

Carmilla couldn't stop herself from chuckling.

"Thanks, but I'll pass," she decided. "And even if I was hungry, I don't think I'd be able to move. I could vegetate here all night and be perfectly fine with that."

"Well, unfortunately I can only give you another hour or two at best," Laura informed her. "'Cause if we stayed out past ten, that'd be breaking curfew and panther shape-shifting vampire or not, I won't let you do that."

"Oh, so it's fine to sneak out to sketchy parties and to the library to research about ancient demons and to browse the Internet for potentially-hazardous information, but staying out past curfew is a crime?"

"Hey, I've gotta put my foot down somewhere."

Carmilla chuckled again, and Laura's grin only brightened. With the offer for blood momentarily refused, she laid back down in the grass, having nonchalantly shifted over a bit closer toward her roommate in the process.

Now, even she could begin to see the stars winking to life, although she was deceived a few times by a passing airplane or jet. But the more stationary lights were easily identified as stars, and Laura took several moments to appreciate their beauty.

Carmilla didn't enjoy very many things – thankfully, Laura had worked her way to the very top of that list – but she could easily appreciate why stargazing was up there as well.

It was calming beyond description, to be humbled by the universe, not quite to the point of feeling insignificant, but rather the opposite. To be able to see the limitless universe from such a standpoint - leagues and bounds of untouched - undiscovered space, was actually kind of motivating for Laura.

There was just... so much out there, so much still yet to be observed, and some of which was never meant to be uncovered at all.

It wasn't clear yet what lie ahead for her, but she knew there was a lot more she still needed to do.

And she knew looking up at the stars wouldn't have been nearly as enjoyable without Carmilla at her side.

Looking alone, she might've fallen victim to the insecurities and the disheartening thoughts.

But she wasn't alone. She had her committed, powerful, beautiful girlfriend beside her now – a firm hand in hers.

Carmilla had survived hundreds of years of stargazing and had yet to get sick of it. But this was the first time she'd gotten to experience it with a lover.

She could remember a lot of things – some for good reasons and some for bad, some she had a choice in remembering, and some that just stubbornly lingered.

But tonight...

She'd be certain to engrave tonight into her heart forever. The two best things to ever happen to her both at the same time – the stars and Laura.

She knew she'd never forget this.

Several minutes of silence passed as they each marveled the distant sights in silence.

It was then Carmilla found questions bubbling on the tip of her tongue, and she couldn't hold them back any longer.

"Do you recognize anything?"

Her gaze was still fixated on the stars, and Laura knew what she meant. She took a moment to mull over her thoughts.

"Hmm... Well, I don't think I see it right now, but I know about the Big Dipper! And then there's the Summer Triangle and the North Star-"

"Polaris."

"Right. That. The one that supposedly guides you home all the time, no matter where you are. But again, I don't think I see any of those right now."

"Hm. Then I'll spare you the extensive discourse about the differences and similarities between European constellations as opposed to the ones we can see here. I'll save that for another time."

"No, it's alright! I mean, if you wanna rant and rave about your favorite thing in the universe – literally – I'm not gonna stop you. I'd love to hear about it."

The offer to listen to her little obsession was flattering to Carmilla, to say the very least. But she shrugged a bit and tore her gaze from the sky in order to meet Laura's gaze once more.

"Really? You wouldn't get bored listening to me ramble about my favorite thing in the universe?"

"Of course not! I'd love to see you get so passionate that you get lost in talking about it. I think it'd be cute."

Carmilla smirked.

"Then I guess I'll just have to talk about my favorite thing in the universe." It was her turn to prop herself up on her elbow and look down at her girlfriend, still keeping a comfortable grip on Laura's hand. "Where do I start? Well, my favorite thing in the universe isn't exactly a thing. More of a person, so I guess we'll have to say someone. And she's adorable, always puts her heart into everything, pretty damn smart when it comes to academics, but maybe a bit too reckless in light of evil vampire schemes.

"She's got a wide range of hobbies anywhere from enjoying a marathon of 12-hour supernatural sci-fi television shows all in one sitting, to sticking her nose where it doesn't belong in a potentially-deadly scheme to extend the lifespan of an inane clump of crows.

"But she's incredibly sweet – both figuratively and literally – eats enough cookies and cupcakes to put sugar into the bloodstream. She can also hold her own and crack witty comments like a whip when she wants to, though she tries to avoid situations that might call for that kind of thing. This is only the beginning of my speech. Should I continue? Your face looks awfully red, Cupcake. I should also add that she's got the cutest blush ever."

With a musing smile, Carmilla stopped her speech for a moment to soak up Laura's bashfulness.

As for Laura herself, she was presently using her free arm to cover her face, shielding her eyes and cheeks from view.

"I didn't ask for this," she mumbled. "Why couldn't you just stick to stars?"

"Because stars aren't my favorite thing in the universe, hun. Come on, I thought that was pretty romantic." She released Laura's hand only to pull the obstructing arm away from the girl's face. She pinned Laura's arms into the grass and leaned over her with a playfully wicked smile. "So whaddaya say, Sweetie? Wanna hear more?"

"No thank you!"

Carmilla gave a real laugh that time, and short-lived as it was, Laura enjoyed the sound for all it was worth.

The dark-haired vampire dipped her face down for a quick kiss before rolling off her girlfriend and pressing her back to the grass once more. "You're too much, Sunshine," she smirked. "That laugh kind of hurt."

It hadn't been a comment intended to ignite the spark of worry, but Laura felt it flare in her chest instantly. Once again, she was the one leaning over Carmilla, smile faded and brow furrowed.

"Where does it hurt? Should we go back inside?"

Carmilla rolled her eyes.

"Calm down, Cupcake. I didn't mean it like that. I'm fine. Promise."

A promise from Carmilla wasn't something to make light of. If she said it, she meant it, and that served to sap some of the tension from Laura's shoulders. She sighed and nodded.

"Okay. Sorry for freaking out. I just-" She looked away, voice tapering. "It was hard... thinking you were... dead. I didn't know how I was supposed to keep going without you. So having a miracle like getting you back in one piece made me realize... how easy it could be to lose you," she confessed. "So I'm just... I just want to take care of you as much as I can."

When Laura's gaze next returned to Carmilla's, there was water in the former's eyes. The vampire sighed, but her lips curved upward into the tiniest smile.

"I'm flattered, Laura. I really am. I'm not even sure if that's the right word for it. Maybe something like 'touched' would be better. But either way, thanks for worrying about me. It feels... really nice to know there's someone who'd do that for someone like me. But please don't cry, okay? You've done enough of that on my part. I'm here now, and I'm not going anywhere."

She opened her arms, a silent and extremely rare invitation for closeness, one she knew she'd never present to anyone else in the universe.

Laura bit her lip to keep it from trembling, nodding as her hair spilled out over her shoulders.

Slowly, gently, she laid herself down at Carmilla's side, feeling two familiar arms wrap around her back. She wanted to keep the majority of her weight off the still-recovering vampire, so Laura merely curled closely into her side and rested her head against Carmilla's chest.

She slipped one arm beneath her girlfriend's shoulders and hair, cushioning the nape of her neck against the ticklish grass. Her other arm draped lightly across Carmilla's stomach, brushing gingerly over the part of her shirt she knew to be concealing a large, nasty bruise.

Laura took the liberty upon herself to rub over it in slow, soothing circles, and it was only seconds before she felt Carmilla relax entirely.

Laura hadn't yet been blessed with many opportunities like this, but she could still remember the very first time she'd discovered that Carmilla's heart still beat. She hadn't expected it to for some reason, but assumed that the consumption of other living things' blood helped push pulses into Carmilla's veins.

Either way, it was relieving to be able to listen to that steady rhythm.

It was slow – very slow – but somehow, Laura felt it matched well with Carmilla's cool, aloof, and seemingly-uncaring personality. Out here in this silence, she could hear the air passing in and out of Carmilla's lungs as she breathed.

Laura hoped it wasn't weird that she liked hearing and feeling the workings of her girlfriend's body like this, with such an intimate proximity. She closed her eyes and continued to trace her palm over Carmilla's injured side. The steady, persistent pulse beneath her ear calmed Laura enough to have her forget about the bad thoughts and horrible memories of nearly losing Carmilla.

That heartbeat was as good a reminder as any of the reality - that Carmilla was still alive and well, holding her and planting little kisses to the top of her head.

Laura sighed and couldn't help but press closer, both to convince herself this was all real, and to commit that pulse to memory.

During this time, Carmilla was enjoying the stars in between pressing her lips to Laura's soft hair. She was relieved to know there wouldn't be any tears shed tonight on their first date, though there was a bit of soreness.

But Laura had that covered too, applying a gentle but necessary pressure to Carmilla's sore side just beneath her ribs.

And despite the bit of weight on her chest, she was finding it much easier to breathe tonight.

She ran her own nails lightly up and down Laura's back and side in an effort to keep her warm from the ensuing night winds.

It wasn't long before Carmilla realized she wasn't really looking at her beloved stars anymore.

She had something much better to focus on.

Closing her eyes, she enjoyed the treatment Laura was giving her wounds and returned the gestures with relaxing ministrations of her own.

But there was just one thing she needed to address for Laura's sake.

"Don't fall asleep, Laura. What about curfew?" she muttered.

Surprisingly, she felt the girl shrug.

"Whatever..." Laura mumbled blissfully. "My internal clock will wake me up in time. We can nap for an hour..."

With the decision coming straight from Laura herself, Carmilla wasn't about to hold back any longer. She sighed, releasing all of the worries and the troubles along with it, and pulled Laura ever closer.

But just before she could start to settle into the stillness, she felt Laura move.

Curiously, Carmilla reopened her eyes to find her girlfriend's face just inches away from her own. Her eyes were misty and shimmering, more beautiful than any constellation.

Laura leaned forward for a brief, warm kiss.

"Love you, Carm," she whispered.

Carmilla sucked in a breath.

It was difficult to think about those words. She'd used them before with less-than-favorable outcomes, and she was scared to use them again.

But this was Laura.

They'd been through a lot together in the past few weeks, a lot more than could be said for most relationships that lasted a lifetime.

This was Laura – her perky, giddy, strong-minded, adorable roommate who'd demonstrated far too much reckless behavior in order to display her unconditional affections for a vampire.

Carmilla knew she wasn't a predator to her, she wasn't a burden or an unwanted presence, she wasn't someone Laura would ever take advantage of or take for granted.

All of those reasons, and many many more, were why Carmilla was able to return those once-taboo words unto her.

"Love you, Laura."

Her voice was small, perhaps the softest Laura had ever heard it be.

But even that quietness spoke volumes about Carmilla's feelings. If she hadn't meant it, she wouldn't have said it at all.

So Laura knew she meant it with all her heart.

Without a word, Laura kissed her again, then brushed her cheek against Carmilla's.

"Thanks, Carm. Thank you."

Carmilla looked up into those eyes once more, and there was an entire universe there.

There was still so much she had yet to discover about Laura, still so much she wanted to explore with her, so much she wanted to accomplish with her. It would take a long time to get to all of those things, but for now, the first date night was a pretty big leap.

Carmilla strained up to peck Laura's nose.

"No. Thank you, Laura."

The girl only beamed a smile brighter than the starlight and moonlight illuminating them.

With an hour left to spare before the inevitable curfew, the two girls curled up together once more in the soft grass. Laura's calming presence and gentle hands chased away Carmilla's physical pain, and Carmilla's steady heartbeat and comforting warmth chased away Laura's emotional pain.

It was in that manner that the two starry-eyed lovers fell into a deep, peaceful slumber, blanketed by the dark carpet of winking stars overhead.

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A/N: It's been a while since I've written for Carmilla. Hopefully season 2 will give me more ideas!