Cat Nap

A/N: I do not own anything except for my cat and in reality, she owns me so yeah, still own nothing.

Warm. A tiny ball of it. Right against her left hipbone. Disoriented, in that moment between sleep and consciousness, these were the thoughts that came to Laura. On instinct, her body began to move towards the heat, curling ever so slightly in so as to encompass that warmth. Sleep was already fast approaching as she shifted her arm and laid it across the bundle of warm. Soft was her last thought as she succumbed to the comfort of sleep once again.

She dreamt of being completely content, of just having a normal day, without worry about the Dean or trying to find LaFontaine or Betty. She dreamt of not getting behind on homework and not failing Lit Midterms. She dreamt that she and Danny were talking again and that things were normal between them and of a black cat that just seemed to hang around, intelligent eyes always watching. As she began to slip out of the dream and into the hazed blackness of pre-consciousness, the last thing she remembers seeing are those eyes.

Warmth. Seeping in from an outside source. It soothed her, gave her something to focus on as she drifted between the haze of sleep, the scattered memories of last night's dreams, and the rising awareness of consciousness as it eclipsed slumber. She tightened her arm that was draped over the warmth, drawing it ever so gently closer to her. A smile graced her lips as she realized how soft it was, how small. She ran her hand along it, reveling in the feeling of the fluffy heater as she drew herself into an even tighter curl around it so that she could absorb all of its warmth. As she moved though, so did the tiny ball of fur.

Fur! She realized with a start that brought her into full consciousness. Her eyes flew open only to slam shut again against the early morning light. Slowly opening her eyes this time, allowing them to adjust to the soft brightness of the room, she sees that she is curled around a black cat. A black cat just like the one in her dreams…

But how'd it get in here? And how come it's in my dreams… her thoughts are interrupted by movement. The cat, already curled up in a ball with its tail nuzzled between its front paws and its face, lets out a small whine as it buries its face further under its paw and tightens the ball that it's in. Laura can't keep back the small "aaahh" that this singular adorable action incites in her and she realizes she doesn't care how that cat got in here. Right now all she wants to do is pet it. And seeing no reason not to, she does.

Warm. Far warmer than she has felt in decades, maybe even a century. She feels like she is encompassed by it. And safe. Like in this moment nothing could harm her. She slowly becomes aware that a hand is gently running along her spine and she purrs in content, pulling her head out from under her paws…

Shit. She opened her eyes and looked straight up into the face of her roommate. Shit. Her roommate who had the most adorable smile on her face and eyes that practically yelled affection. Shit. Her roommate who was petting her. In her cat form. While curled up in bed with her. Uninvited. Shit. She never meant to fall asleep. She was only trying to keep the nightmares away. How's she going to explain this to Laura?

Suddenly the hand that was running along her back moved up to her head and started scratching behind her ears. Her purring intensified and Carmilla can't help but feel embarrassed at how little it takes to get her purring so hard. She feels so vulnerable to emotions and feelings in this body and she hates it. Ugh. She can't help it as she nuzzles Laura's hand, it just feels so good. And she hasn't let anyone touch her while she was a cat since Ell, but Ell never knew it was her… Focus Carmilla!

She stretches her paws out and yawns, standing up with the intention of running away so that she could figure out what to do without being compromised by the endorphin-induced haze that being petted brings about but one look into Laura's eyes and she's a goner. She saunters up to Laura's face and nuzzles her chin once before circling 3 times and curling up in between Laura's crooked arm and her side.

"You're a great cuddler, yes you are. " Cooed Laura as she resumed petting the cat, alternating between running her fingers down her back and petting under her neck. "Oh, I bet someone really likes getting their ears scratched don't they."

Oh god. Carmilla weighed the pros and cons of transforming out of cat form right then and there just to get Laura to stop talking to her like that. But in the end Carmilla was enjoying getting petted too much to let it end just yet. It felt so good when she'd scratch that spot right below her ears. Just a little bit longer. What's the harm?

Twenty minutes later, the cat was nestled in Laura's lap, all but asleep while Laura was reading The Portrait of Dorian Gray, her free hand absentmindedly stroking the silken fur of the cat in her lap. Getting to the end of the chapter, Laura glanced at the black feline and sighed, because of course the cat would be adorable and sleeping when she needed to go to the bathroom. She'd been putting it off for as long as she could but she couldn't hold it off any longer. Slipping her fingers under the cats head and petting right under its chin, she started apologizing.

"I'm sorry I have to wake you up but I really need to go to the bathroom."

The cat yawned and stretched out its paws but didn't get up. In fact, Laura would almost say that the cat smirked at her before laying its head back down and just staring into her eyes.

"I'm serious. If you don't move I'm going to have to move you myself."

The cat's tail flick once… twice, but it didn't move from its spot.

"Please" whined Laura, giving the sleek black cat with intelligent eyes a puppy dog pout.

The cat just rolled onto its back and nuzzled its head into her stomach, purring contentedly.

"Well I can't say I didn't warn you." She said as she picked the cat up from under its front paws and holding it out in front of her at eye level, she gave it her "sternest" scolding face. "You may be insanely adorable but that doesn't give you the right or the free pass to be rude. And don't pretend that you don't understand me; I know you can so playing dumb won't get you anywhere. Do we understand each other? Good."

She brought the cat to her chest and cradled it for a few moments before kissing the top of its head. Setting the feline down on her yellow pillow, she then turned and walked towards the bathroom. At the last second though she turned around with a thoughtful look on her face.

"Oh, and next time you want to cuddle with me at night Carm, just say something. There's no need for all of this sneaking around as a cat. It's a really cute look on you but I think I prefer the original you better."

And with that she shut the bathroom door and left a dumbfounded Carmilla sitting on her bed.