A/N: In honour of hollstein doing the do, I decided now is as good a time as ever to post a new chapter. This was half written by me and half by Alex, followed by me editing it.

Thanks for all the follows and favourites, and we hope you like it and tell us what you think in the reviews.

There are times in life where you find yourself questioning a lot of things about yourself and what events in your life made you who you are today. Opportunities seized. Places visited. People met.

Laura was very aware of this as she waved to the raven haired beauty before rushing to meet her at the doors to the music building and wrapping her in a hug. She smiled as she felt Carmilla nuzzle her cheek affectionately, feeling the smile on the taller woman's lips. They separated and Laura followed Carm back to her flat above the bar near campus. They spent the time in silence, which, as was happening more and more frequently over the last few weeks.

She thought about how much happier she was these past few weeks than she had been for years before. Part of her was wary of allowing herself to get this attached, of opening herself up to another heartbreak. Especially when she considered how little she knew about the woman with the voice of a siren in the body of an angel. Every time their conversations moved towards Carmilla's past, the dark haired woman would tense up. Laura noticed this, and deftly navigated the subject towards lighter, more relaxed topics. Who was she to complain? She had shared just as much about her past as Carmilla, and she knew plenty about having skeletons in one's closet.

She smiled as she felt the back of Carmilla's hand brush against her own before a slender pinky timidly wrapped around her own. The other woman was always shy of public displays of affection that displayed anything more than lust, and it was something Laura found increasingly endearing. She looked up and studied the woman walking next to her. From her perfect eyebrows, almost always arched in faux contempt, to her jawline that could have been sculpted from marble for all its smoothness and subtle strength, to her captivating crimson lips. She felt her chest tighten as she wrapped the rest of her fingers around Carmilla's and watched those beautiful lips tug slightly in the smallest hint of a smile.

They entered Carmilla's flat, taking their usual seat on the couch next to J.P. Since their first date, where she had fallen asleep in Carmilla's arms, Laura was a regular visitor to the flat. She had woken up early in the morning to a missed call and several missed texts from Danny asking how the date went and transitioning towards wondering where she was as the night went on. She was going to answer, let her friend know that she was safe and there was nothing to worry about, but the feeling of Carmilla's arms around her, and the steady rise and fall of her breaths lulled her back into the world of dreams, where an enormous black cat with galaxies in its eyes waited for her.

She had met the giant jungle cat several times in her dreams, but she figured it was probably just her subconscious messing with her after many late nights spent working on her articles. Three more bodies had disappeared from the morgue since LaFontaine's friend had told them about the first one, mixed with the tremors at the university she was investigating, and the daily weirdness she reported on for her column, Laura felt like she was being pulled in several different directions. Her only reprieve was Carmilla. The mysterious musician was always open to letting Laura vent, and though she seemed perturbed by the goings on with the missing bodies, she listened nonetheless.

They had just finished their dinner, a stir fry that Carmilla had clearly just learned how to make that day, and were halfway through the fifth episode of Doctor Who for the night when Laura had noticed that Carmilla was acting strangely.

The normally snarky woman was uncharacteristically quiet, as opposed to her usual running commentary on the shows that Laura supposedly "forced" her to watch (though Laura could tell she secretly liked them). She noticed that Carmilla had been twiddling her fingers in her honey brown locks, something she could tell was a nervous gesture. She had turned to ask what had the normally cool and collected woman in such a tizzy, and was surprised to see the blush on Carmilla's face.

She had smiled as the pale woman stuttered her way through asking her to be her girlfriend, throwing in a snarky comment here and there in vain attempts to save face. She had kissed Carmilla with as much passion as she could muster to answer and smiled when she was told to keep her weekend free.

Later that night, as she lay in her girlfriend's arms (she didn't think she would ever get used to that word), her thoughts returned to the doubts she had been ruminating over this afternoon. This time, though, there was an even louder voice that spoke in defiance.

Her time with Carmilla taught her she wasn't the only one taking a chance by opening herself up to the other girl. She may not know much about Carmilla's past, but that didn't mean she didn't know about Carmilla.

She knew that Carmilla was afraid to come off as anything other than, as Danny put it, the Mistress of the Snark, around others, but deep down she was a big softy (and a bit of a dork). She knew that Carmilla's music was one of her true passions, and though she complained about them constantly, she was happy to help her students however she could. She knew that, even though the living room and kitchen area of her flat were quite nice, the bedroom that sat up the spiral staircase in the back of the apartment was a complete mess. She knew that, while they got along and teased each other like normal siblings, for whatever reason, Carmilla didn't trust her brother, and was always slightly on edge when he was in the room with them alone.

Sure she had her secrets, and sure Laura was curious. Her investigative nature made her want to figure everything out. Why did Carmilla have a separate mini fridge with a lock bolted to it, stocked with who knows what? What was it that made Carmilla want to restrain herself when their kissing became more heated, as if she was trying to control herself? Why didn't Carmilla trust Will, and why did she choose to live above the bar they shared? Why did Carmilla act so violently when some drunk at the bar called her a witch, when normally she simply shrugged off any other insult thrown her way?

As much as Laura wanted to know about her girlfriend, she wanted her to be comfortable and happy first. She inhaled the scent of vanilla and lilac and closed her eyes. She had an inkling of the feelings in her chest that were getting stronger with every minute she spent with Carmilla, and she knew that if she ever wanted to make something of them she'd have to wait. One day, Carmilla would be comfortable enough with her to talk about those things, and Laura would be there to listen when she was.

And maybe, one day, Laura would be ready to let a couple skeletons out of her closet too.

*(OoO)*

"Carm, I get that you're trying to be chivalrous and all," Laura said as Carmilla opened the door to the secluded cabin in the woods. "But carrying me over the threshold? Really?" Carmilla merely smirked as she walked smoothly through the door into the picturesque cottage. It was modest, with the living room and kitchen right near the door. A short hallway in the back of the room led to the bathroom, and what was presumably the bedroom. There was a quaint little porch outside with a view of a nearby lake and a small fire pit nearby for bonfires. "And you're doing it with one arm! And carrying our stuff. Where did you get this strong?" She wrapped a hand around Carmilla's arm and relished in the feeling of the muscles working underneath. She looked up and smiled as she let herself get lost in coal black eyes looking down at her while Carmilla smirked.

"I have my methods." The mysterious woman replied. Her voice was soft, and had that slight husk to it that sent shivers down Laura's spine. "Besides, I took you here to have a romantic weekend away from those lack-wits at the University. I even got that puppy of a TA to cover for me." She dropped the bags and brought her arm underneath Laura's legs before squeezing them slightly, digging her fingers into her thigh lightly and eliciting a slight gasp from the brunette. "The last thing I need is you questioning my strength of all things."

Laura smiled and ran her hands along the deceptively powerful muscles of Carmilla's arms once more, "Well, alright, but you've gotta promise to give me the name of your trainer, because, wow."

She watched the flecks of silver appear in her girlfriend's eyes and was entranced as Carmilla set her down, "Now that you're done questioning me, detective, isn't there something you'd rather being doing now?"

Laura smirked and leaned up to bring her lips to Carmilla's. She tasted like heaven on earth. Everything about her was irresistible, addicting, intoxicating. Laura couldn't seem to help herself whenever she was around her girlfriend. The swirling galaxies that would sometimes appear in Camilla's ebony eyes drew her in with their gravity, and she felt helpless to stop it, even if she wanted to.

What the tiny tawny-haired girl wasn't aware of was how much of an effect she was having on her significant other. Carmilla's senses were completely surrounded by Laura. She heard the girl's heartbeat pick up, pumping adrenaline and endorphins through her system as it provided a beat for the sweet melody of sounds she made as lips and tongue and teeth found spots on her like notes on a piano. She inhaled and delighted in the sweet fragrance of strawberry shampoo and cinnamon mixed with that of sweat and pheromones. The combined scents tickled her nostrils before working their way into her head making her dizzy with desire. She sucked on a particular part behind Laura's ear and relished in the feeling of her girlfriend's body as she arched forward while wrapping her arms and legs around the dark-haired woman, trying to create as much contact between herself and her girlfriend as possible. Laura's fingers tangling in Carmilla's hair, mixed with the taste that she could only describe as pure decadence on her lips eliminated everything from existence. Carmilla slowly walked toward where she thought the couch was. When her shin met cushion, she lowered herself and placed Laura gently on her back, taking a moment to appreciate the beauty before her as if she were looking at the most magnificent piece of art ever created. She may as well have been. As Laura lay upon the couch looking up at her-chest heaving, face flushed, eyes black-blown with desire, and hair splayed around her in a halo of golden silk- she was the very definition of angelic. Laura was light and warmth and goodness. A stark contrast to the darkness that surrounded Carmilla. But as she lowered herself to straddle her girlfriend's waist and returned her lips to their proper place on the tiny brunette's, she allowed those feelings to be lost, for the time being, in the spine-tingling, chilling flames that roared through her body before settling in her stomach and dripping down to her core like molten magma.

Laura wasn't sure how much time had passed before an annoying beeping sound was audacious enough to interrupt her very important make out session with her girlfriend. She tried ignoring it, but as time passed the beeps increased in frequency.

Finally, after the fifth beep, she untangled herself from her girlfriend's arms to reach into her pocket and take out her phone. Carmilla lowered her head onto the brunette's shoulder. Secretly she was glad for the distraction, it allowed her time to compose herself and regain her dwindling self-control. Despite her relief, she could not stop the primordial growl that rumbled through her. She froze momentarily, waiting for Laura's reaction, but relaxed when she heard a soft chuckle from beneath her.

"It's from Danny," the shorter girl explained.

This received a scoff from Carmilla. It was safe to say that Carmilla wasn't overly fond of the crimson haired drummer, and Laura could guess she was probably looking forward to not hearing her name for the whole weekend. Her hopes were dashed as Laura read the texts aloud.

"You coming out with us tonight?

Laura?

Are you coming to the bar with us?

You there?

Are you okay?"

"You know I'm getting real tired of Clifford interrupting us." Carmilla whined as she readjusted herself so she was holding Laura.

"It's not my fault you can't wait 'til we get home to kiss me. Plus you should know what days she TAs for your class by now." Carmilla simply huffed and buried her face in the back of Laura's neck. "Besides, you could've told her we were going out for the weekend when you asked her to cover for you at the school."

"I just didn't want to have to go through another lecture about what my intentions with you are, and to not hurt you or I'll regret it."

"She's just really protective of her friends." Laura defended.

"Yeah, well her protectiveness is infringing on my much needed you time."

Laura chuckled as she wrote a quick text telling Danny everything was fine, before turning off her phone and tossing it onto the table next to the couch. She watched as Carmilla stood up and headed toward the door.

"If you can go collect some firewood, I'll rustle us up something to eat."

"So that's how we're doing things this weekend? Hunting and gathering?"

Carmilla turned and smirked before responding. "Well, by the state of your phone, I figured you would be used to roughing it."

"Oh ha ha." Laura drawled as she stood to join Carm at the door, placing a light kiss on her jaw. "Make fun of the girl with the flip phone. At least I don't abduct my girlfriend for a romantic getaway and make her have to work for her food."

She watched as the flecks of silver appeared in Carmilla's eyes before she closed her eyes and walked into the woods. "Just don't get lost. I'd hate to have to be all heroic on my time off."

"Carm, please. Me? Get lost? As if."