Laura's eyes cracked open an inch as she heard the sound of the bedroom door opening. It was soon followed by a quiet squeak, and then the click of the lock. Heavy boots clunked against the hard wood floor. Lying on her side, her eyes trained on the floor, Laura watched as a pair of socked feet came in to view.

Her gaze trailed upwards, past a pair of jean clad legs and up to a bare torso. Will was busy folding up the shirt he had just pulled over his head. He draped it over the back of his desk chair before moving to unbuckle his belt.

The vampire had failed to notice Laura lying in Kirsch's bed. His attention was all on Kirsch, who was fast asleep in his. Laura wasn't quite sure what the proper protocol was for making her presence known. She didn't exactly want to startle the vampire. So she lay in silence, transfixed by the taught muscles of Will's back. An intricate tattoo of a dragon covered his entire back and shoulders; and its eyes seemed to bore right in to her soul.

The Zeta had looked like just another average college kid when Laura had first met him. She would never have guessed he was actually a vampire. Knowing his true nature had made Laura come to see him in a different light. Not to mention the fact that the last time she'd seen him he'd tried to eat her. That was hardly the kind of thing that made a good impression on the freshman.

Laura's fear was palpable as she lay staring at the dragon on Will's back. Kirsch had suggested that, like Carmilla, Will spent few nights in their room. Choosing instead to sleep during the day. "I wonder..." Will started, his voice coming out as a low hiss. "Does Carmilla know her little mouse has ran away?" His voice held the same condescending tone as Carmilla's whenever she was teasing her. He turned on the spot, cocking his head to the side. He considered the frightened freshman with a hard glare.

Laura pulled the covers up to her chin, trying to resist the childish urge to pull them up over her head. Her eyes darted over towards Kirsch, who was busy sleeping like the dead. Will followed her gaze, his expression thawing out somewhat. "Relax, Mouse. I'm not stupid enough to do anything to you in my own dorm room, am I?" Leaving the question opened ended was deliberate on his part. He flashed her a toothy smile, revealing the tips of his fangs.

"Carmilla would kick your ass if you did anything to me..." Laura plucked some courage from somewhere as she sat up. She stared right back at the vampire.
"Maybe." Will acknowledged with a nod. "Wouldn't be the first time... What are you doing here anyway? Shouldn't you be playing house with my dear sister?"

Will was completely unabashed as he stripped out of his jeans right in front of her. Apparently he and his 'sister' shared more than just an affinity for scathing sarcasm. For one insane second, Laura thought he might have been about to climb in to bed with her. He didn't though.

Pulling the covers back from Kirsch he climbed in beside him. He gave his room mate an affectionate kick to get him to roll over closer to the wall. Kirsch grumbled something under his breath, but his eyes stayed close. Laura wasn't sure anything short of a nuclear apocalypse could wake the sleeping Zeta. Will smirked at her questioning look as he settled down next to his room mate. "Wouldn't be the first time." He repeated, leering at Laura with a predatory smile.

"You care about him." It wasn't a question. Laura had seen the look of hatred on his face when Carmilla had bitten Kirsch. That day seemed like a lifetime ago now; and the biting itself had taken on a whole new context. Will shrugged, without admitting to anything. Glancing over his shoulder, he watched Kirsch sleep. Something close to adoration graced his boyish face, making him seem so harmless.

Laura shuddered, thinking about how many countless lives that boyish look of his has no doubt snared over the years. "I care about Carmilla. A lot."
"So do I." Will finally turned back to face her. He seemed to have aged by centuries in a matter of moments. His eyes were dark inky pools, haunted by years of experience. "That's why I'm telling you this: Your feelings will get one of you killed. Given past experience, my money's on it being you, sweetheart. Do yourself a favor. Leave. Now."

"I can't..." Laura let out a shaky breath, struggling not to break eye contact with him. Will rolled his eyes at her; yet another familial trait.
"Right, there's the matter of your missing roomie."
"No. That's not it...well it's part of it, but... I can't leave Carmilla. I was the one who talked her in to staying. For me to run now, that would be...I just can't."

"Whatever. It's your funeral." Will shrugged; though his expression seemed to hold a little more respect for her.

Standing outside of room 307, Laura was anxious about entering. She'd had her hand on the doorknob for the last five minutes. A few early risers had already walked passed her, giving the freshman curious glances.

There were no sounds coming from within the room, which Laura could only take as a good sign. There had been no reports of a vampire roaming the campus and trying to eat people, either. Another good sign. Taking a deep breath, Laura finally ventured inside.

Carmilla was still bound to the chair. Her head was slumped forward, with her chin resting against her chest. Laura wondered how she could possibly sleep like that. Then again, she'd had plenty of practice from spending nine days straight tied in that same position. A stab of well deserved guilt hit the teenager as she moved towards her room mate.

She had barely placed her hands on the rope around the vampire's wrists, when Carmilla woke with a start. Her arms and shoulders were suddenly tense as she struggled against her bindings. Her eyes, wide and unfocused, looked around in a blind panic. "Hey, hey, Carm it's okay. It's okay." Laura moved to stand in front of her, taking her face in her hands. Her thumbs traced along the strong line of the older girl's jaw. "Are you...have you..."

"Stopped considering eating you and all your little friends?" Carmilla quirked an eyebrow at her. Nobody else could manage to look so aloof while tied to a chair. "Mostly." She attempted a shrug, which was hampered by her bindings.

"I'll get some scissors or something..." Laura turned around to search her desk for something to cut the ropes with.
"Don't bother." There was a thud from behind her as Carmilla stood up. The lengths of rope that had been keeping her bound dropped to the floor with a thud. She flexed her wrists, encouraging the feeling back in to them.

Laura stood gaping at her in disbelief. "You...you could get out of them this whole time? Wait. When we had you tied up the first time-"
"And the penny drops. Finally." Carmilla rolled her eyes, though there was no malice to her tone.

She moved closer towards Laura, backing the younger girl up against her desk. "Vampire, remember? I could have gotten out any time I wanted to."

"So why didn't you?" Laura was trying her best not to look at Carmilla's lips, but it was a hard feat to manage.
"Because, Buttercup, staying in that infernal chair was the only way you'd trust me." Carmilla brought her hand up to tuck a stray piece of hair back behind Laura's ear. "Not that it worked..."

"It did. I do...trust you." Laura caught hold of her wrist before she could lower had hand again. She brought it back in close, placing it against her cheek. The teenager looked like she'd barely slept a wink all night. Carmilla didn't even want to consider that she might have had a sleepover at the Summer Society.

"You look tired." Carmilla commented, hoping to change the conversation. The vampire wanted to move swiftly on from Laura's unintentional poisoning attempt.
"I was up most of the night." Laura admitted. She hadn't been able to settle after Will had returned to the room he shared with Kirsch. Laura had crept out like a burglar at the crack of dawn. "I'm so sorry about what we did. I-" Carmilla cut her off with a kiss.

The tiny human's arms wrapped around her neck, pulling her in closer. Laura let out a quiet moan as Carmilla captured her bottom lip between her teeth, giving it a playful nip. "Sorry..." The vampire apologized, her voice low and husky. Some of her base instincts were still pretty close to the surface. Thanks, in part, to the witches bane she'd been dosed with the previous night.

"It's okay." Laura reassured her by leaning in for another kiss. She wondered if there would ever come a time when they wouldn't need to keep apologizing to one another. "Are you...Are you hungry, or you know, thirsty?"
"I've got some blood in the fridge." Carmilla went to pull away, but Laura caught hold of her plaid shirt and pulled her back against her.

"You can...if you wanted to..." Laura bit nervously down on her lip. She was fully aware of just what she was offering the vampire as she craned her neck.
"Laura..." Carmilla's eyes closed over. She took a steadying breath, trying to ignore the other girl's scent washing over her senses. The witches herb was still swimming around in her system, albeit in minute traces. Still, Carmilla didn't trust herself to feed from her tiny human.

"It's okay." Her eyes opened again as she felt Laura's hand caress her cheek. "I trust you." The vampire let out a feral growl as she lifted Laura clear off her feet. She carried the smaller girl over to her bed, nuzzling her cheek with her own as she lay them both down. There were only so many times that Carmilla could deny herself something she so desperately wanted.

Laura's body was warm and firm beneath her. The pulse point in her neck was practically crying out for Carmilla to bite down on it. "God forgive me..." She muttered, her eyes rolling to back of her head as her fangs extended out. She sunk them down in to Laura's throat. The sharp points sliced in to her skin like a knife through warm butter. There wasn't as much pain as Laura remembered feeling the first time. After the initial bite, the actual feeding was painless. There was something almost soothing about Laura's life force ebbing out of her.

A strange feeling of contempt washed through her as Carmilla's lips suckled against the bite. It felt like a kind of warmth seeping in to her bones. She found her hand reaching up to cup the back of the vampire's neck, pulling her down closer against her. Carmilla came to her senses long before Laura did. Pulling out, there was another twinge of pain; but it was nothing compared to the peaceful haze that had settled over the teenager's body.

Carmilla's tongue lapped at the puncture marks, like a cat licking at a saucer of milk. Any other time, Laura would have found the action distracting. Her exhaustion had taken hold though, and her eyes were slowly slipping closed. She thought she heard Carmilla mumbling something about 'doves' against her ear as she began to drift off.

Carmilla watched her falling asleep. Between the blood loss and being up all night, it didn't take very long. She moved her hair back from her face, pressing a light kiss to her cheek and mumbling 'I love you.' Settling down beside the other girl, Carmilla pulled the covers up over them both. She lay her head down, sharing Laura's yellow pillow with her as she spooned with her tiny human.

After all, even creatures of the night need the small comforts of home.

Fin